Aiways

Aiways was established in February 2017 by automotive veterans Fu Qiang (formerly of Volvo China) and Gu Feng (former CFO of SAIC Motor). With early backing from domestic institutional investors and partners including CATL, the company set out to build intelligent, pure-electric passenger vehicles on dedicated EV platforms. In 2017, the company also brought on Roland Gumpert to lead product development, eventually partnering on high-performance niche projects like the Gumpert Nathalie sports car while laying ground for its primary production base in Shangrao, Jiangxi Province. In 2019, Aiways unveiled the production version of its debut model, the U5 mid-size electric crossover, followed by the U7 ion concept. Rather than focusing exclusively on China's congested domestic EV landscape, Aiways actively prioritized European homologation. By 2020, it became one of the first Chinese new-energy vehicle startups to officially enter European retail markets, expanding distribution partnerships across Germany, the Netherlands, France, Israel, and several Nordic and Southern European countries. Building on the U5 platform, Aiways introduced its second production vehicle, the U6 SUV-Coupé, designed under styling direction involving Ken Okuyama. Despite initial export momentum, Aiways faced intensifying domestic price competition, mounting cash-flow constraints, and shifting executive leadership between 2022 and 2023. These hurdles culminated in manufacturing pauses, restructuring efforts, and strategic pivots aimed at exiting the hyper-competitive Chinese domestic retail market to focus almost exclusively on overseas European export sales.