On September 26, Aion launched pre-sales for its second global car, the AION RT, in Guangzhou. The company offers four versions: the 520 Smart Enjoy, 650 Smart Luxury, 520 LiDAR, and 650 LiDAR. The pre-sale price ranges from 119,800 to 169,800 yuan (24040$).
The launch of AION RT created a buzz in the A+ sedan market. On the first day, a few stunning posters caught attention. Luo Yonghao quickly praised it. Battery king Zeng Yuqun and “Cardinal” Zhou Hongyi also showed support. Even international friend Hurun, used to luxury cars, expressed excitement about AION RT.
Honestly, the AION RT has real strength. The information from the pre-sale launch shows that the AION RT excels in appearance, space, range, charging, and safety. It also features the first high-level intelligent driving with lidar in its class. The automotive industry often states that two types of cars are the hardest to make: supercars and A+ class sedans. Supercars require long chassis, testing a company’s R&D capabilities. A+ class sedans must have no weaknesses, assessing a company’s overall strength. Aion stands out as one of the best in making pure electric sedans among domestic brands. It has solid expertise in product development, technology, market strategy, cost management, and manufacturing. The arrival of the AION RT showcases Aion’s comprehensive strength.
The AION RT’s headlights do not follow the trend of “squinty eyes.” Instead, they draw inspiration from the dual eyes of a velociraptor. The design is more three-dimensional and rounded. The daytime running lights add a clever touch, giving the “Aion Velociraptor” a blend of agility and elegance. The “arrow feather tail lights” feature a flat design, making them unique. The car’s side adopts the rare G4 curvature found in million-dollar luxury cars. This curvature offers maximum smoothness and poses significant design challenges. The automotive industry demands high standards, as even luxury brands like BBA can only achieve G3 curvature. This feature gives the AION RT an elegant shape and a commanding presence. The golden ratio, often seen in great sculptures and paintings, appears in the AION RT’s body. The tire-to-body ratio is 0.618, and the body-to-tail ratio is 1.618, creating a timeless aesthetic. The Y0 line on the roof innovates electric sedan design with a smooth 3.48-meter curve and a 20° curvature. This breakthrough balances elegance, ultra-low drag of 0.208 Cd, and spacious rear seating. Compared to hatchback designs, it looks good, functions well, and offers comfort. Seven exquisite colors use a Morandi palette, providing an elegant and high-end visual effect. The paint features a seven-layer coating process, including two layers of color paint, one more than competitors, resulting in a finer finish. The car shines like a mirror. Honestly, even makeup doesn’t require this many layers.
Comfort is not just a subjective feeling. It has strict product standards. For rear seat comfort, the seat height must be 300mm, and the thigh angle should be 90°. Recently launched A-class cars mostly have seat heights below 280mm and thigh angles less than 90°. The seating experience is predictable. In contrast, the AION RT boasts a seat height of 320mm, the highest in its class, with a thigh angle close to 95°. This performance surpasses many luxury B-class cars.
The seat design fits most people’s shapes. It uses unique double-layer high-density foam. The middle layer is soft and provides a strong sense of wrapping. The bottom layer offers suitable hardness and excellent support. The car’s high-frequency touch areas use 100% soft materials. “One more layer, a bit higher, and a bit larger than competitors” gives consumers more comfort.
AION excels in space. The saying goes, “For a spacious rear, choose AION.” The AION RT offers 940mm of headroom and 943mm of legroom in the rear. The front also boasts over 1 meter of head and legroom, comparable to B-class cars. The driving view is wider, similar to an SUV. The front seats fold down with one button, transforming the interior into a luxurious bed. A+ class sedans match the space flexibility of SUVs. The 540L trunk space leads its class. Many A+ sedans have a small trunk opening, making it hard to reach items deep inside. AION RT combines spaciousness with a large opening. The opening measures 470mm, allowing easy access to deep luggage. The tailgate threshold is just 670mm, making it easy for women and children to load and unload. The 540L trunk fits four 24-inch suitcases and one 20-inch suitcase with ease.
Young users worldwide crave affordable, effective, and safe advanced driving. AION RT features 3R11V1L12U, 27 advanced driving hardware components, a fourth-generation perception end-to-end deep learning model, and the Nvidia Orin-X high-performance platform. It pushes the limits of driving experience while enhancing the safety of advanced driving.
Current advanced driving technology shows that pure vision performs well in some scenarios but raises safety concerns. On August 6, Huawei’s Yu Chengdong expressed similar views at a press conference. Pure vision technology offers a high experience but has low safety limits in certain situations. For example, it once misidentified a white object as a white cloud, nearly causing a collision. In contrast, LiDAR can zoom, detect farther, and perceive faster and more accurately. Thus, LiDAR remains essential at this stage. The pre-sale event showcased AION RT’s performance in various challenging scenarios, such as urban villages and rural roads. AION RT responded promptly to sudden pedestrians and electric vehicles, effectively avoiding collisions. When faced with a narrow road blocked by stone pillars, AION RT accurately measured the width with LiDAR and accelerated through smoothly. In situations with white obstacles, AION RT detected and navigated around them in time using LiDAR. In the “ceiling of intelligent driving,” many systems struggle with straight U-turns, but AION RT uses LiDAR to accurately sense oncoming traffic. Its fourth-generation end-to-end model enables efficient interaction with surrounding vehicles, ensuring safety while maintaining smooth travel. Muddy construction zones present a “hellish scenario,” with poor conditions, no lane markings, splashes on windows, and large construction vehicles. Even on unmarked roads, AION RT with LiDAR can easily initiate intelligent driving, promptly sensing road conditions and avoiding large vehicles. AION RT excels in various challenging scenarios, providing a safer, more efficient, and smoother experience. Many attendees exclaimed in amazement.
AION RT leverages the advantages of the AEP 3.0 electric platform. It achieves an A+ level space layout with 68 kWh in a compact area. Most competitors only reach around 60 kWh. AION RT also introduces silicon carbide technology, previously exclusive to 800V high-voltage platforms, to A+ level electric sedans. With low drag and lightweight design, AION RT achieves a leading energy consumption of 11.7 kWh/100 km and a range of 650 km. Additionally, AION RT optimizes cell materials, structure, and electrolyte. It supports 3C fast charging on a versatile 400V platform. It can add 1 km of range in 3 seconds, 200 km in 10 minutes, and charge from 30% to 80% in 18 minutes. Its charging speed leads the segment.
The smart cockpit is the experience young users desire. The AION RT features the latest ADiGO 5.0 system. It offers a new PAD-style interface that is easy to use. Users can switch based on their preferences. The phone and car integration allows popular apps to extend to the car’s system. The AION RT also includes a 5.1-channel sound system with 11 high-fidelity speakers. It has the only 8-inch, 45 Hz subwoofer in its class. The sound system uses a three-way design. An international acoustics expert finely tunes the sound layout. The sound field remains stable, with no resonance or standing waves. The highs are beautiful, the mids are sweet, and the lows are deep.
AION RT uses the Aion magazine battery 2.0 technology. It has 800,000 vehicles that have traveled 48 billion kilometers without spontaneous combustion. The body features a high-strength cage design. It contains 74% high-strength steel and aluminum alloy and 27% hot-formed steel. This exceeds competitors in the same class. Inside, it has seven airbags. The rear side air curtains include a V-shaped cavity design. The front row has a central airbag to protect occupants effectively.
AION RT features many user-friendly designs for women. It focuses on sun protection, equipping two electric sunshades that are rare even in luxury cars. These shades block 100% of UV rays. They sit cleverly in hidden spaces on the roof beams. The unique mini motors do not compromise headroom. Additionally, AION RT offers the first panoramic dual sunroof in its class. The front row enjoys sun protection while the rear row views the sky. Everyone benefits.
At the end: 120,000 in aesthetic space, no compromises. 130,000 offers the longest range in its class. 150,000 features advanced lidar for high-level smart driving. AION RT is the second global model from the Aion brand, following the Aion T-Rex. It is an excellent choice in the A+ sedan market. With the grand start of pre-sales, AION RT will deliver high-quality electric travel experiences to users worldwide.