Europe is slowly heading towards an electric future. Over the past five years, sales of electrically-chargeable cars in the region increased ten-fold, reaching 1.7 million units in 2021 and accounting for 18% of the total market. The trend has prompted radical model strategy revisions among industry incumbents and awakened the interest of new and overseas players.
Aiways Automobiles Company is one of the more recent arrivals in Europe and epitomises the sort of ambitious new mobility player jockeying for position. It has based its European headquarters in Munich, Germany and in 2020 became the first Chinese start-up to introduce an electric vehicle (EV) in Europe with the launch of the U5 SUV. Its European order book is now open to not only Germany but also the Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, France, Switzerland, Spain, Portugal, Italy and Sweden. The line-up will soon expand with the introduction of the electric U6 SUV-Coupé. Just how big an impact could this brand, and others like it, make on Europe’s light vehicle market?
