GAC debuts AION UT Cross in Paris and launches Europe brand, service arm and Chelsea deal

GAC used the 2026 Paris Motor Show, which opened on October 12 at the Paris Expo Porte de Versailles, to give the AION UT Cross its global debut and to launch two new names: the Europe-facing brand proposition GAC. THE ENGINEERS and the global service brand GAC CARE+. The booth showed six models from its three portfolios — GAC Motor, AION and HYPTEC — covering BEV, PHEV and HEV powertrains and segments from sedans and SUVs to MPVs, arranged around six themed zones including Smart Green Living and Energy Ecosystem, with a reception robot greeting visitors. Backing the brand positioning, GAC says it has invested more than RMB 67 billion in R&D over 29 years, employs an R&D team of over 8,500 people and has filed over 25,000 patent applications, and it runs a new-energy vehicle Lighthouse Factory plus the world's first three-in-one wind tunnel laboratory with EU WLTP witness-testing qualification. Every new model must pass Five Extremes, One Mountain, One Dust extreme-environment validation, with cumulative equivalent test mileage exceeding 13 million kilometres. Global supplier partners such as Bosch, Michelin, Valeo and ZF and European dealer partners attended the event.

The AION UT Cross, built from GAC's reading of European mobility needs, is a light-outdoor crossover EV that GAC says combines hatchback flexibility, estate spaciousness and SUV off-road capability. Led by the Milan Design Center, it has a rugged, sculpted exterior and a clean, practical interior, plus an exclusive Cross kit with wheel-arch cladding and a roof rack. Safety is at its core: 71% of the body is high-strength steel, it carries 7 airbags including a class-leading 2.1-metre V-shaped curtain airbag, and it uses a Magazine Battery that GAC says has safely covered more than 160 billion kilometres. It offers the longest wheelbase in its class at 2,750 mm, a 440-litre trunk that becomes fully flat with the rear seats folded, 24 flexible storage spaces, and chassis tuning for European roads with 225 mm-wide tyres and 147 mm of ground clearance even at full load. It delivers 400 km of WLTP range and fast charges from 30% to 80% in just 24 minutes.

On the afternoon of media day at the show, GAC and Chelsea FC held a global partnership signing ceremony at the GAC booth, making GAC the club's official automotive partner. GAC Group Vice President and GAC International Chairman Chen Jiacai and Chelsea's President of Commercial Todd Kline signed the agreement, witnessed by GAC Group President Xia Xianqing and Chelsea legend Claude Makélélé, after which Xia Xianqing and Makélélé exchanged gifts — a GS7 car model and a signed Chelsea jersey. Also attending were Chelsea Commercial Partnerships Director Alex Smith, GAC International General Manager Wei Haigang and Ma Haiyang, President of the GAC Europe Regional Center. GAC had previously become an official automotive partner of Villarreal CF, and it says it will use football as a bridge to build locally tailored brand experiences and a closer emotional connection with European customers.