GAC Aion and Didi build autonomous electric cars

The company, which is 50 per cent owned by each of the two companies, is called Aidi Technology. The joint venture has already received the required business licence in China. This means that the communicated schedule, according to which the first batch is planned to go into mass production next year, seems realistic, at least on paper.

The first series model will be based on the AEP3.0 electric platform from GAC Aion and utilise Didi technology for level 4 automated driving. Level 4 is also known as fully automated driving. The car still has a steering wheel and pedals, so it can be controlled by humans. However, on certain routes (such as the motorway or in a multi-storey car park), the vehicle can move completely autonomously and can also drive without occupants. As the driver completely relinquishes control of the vehicle in these cases, he or she becomes a passenger (and can sleep or read, for example) and is therefore not liable for traffic offences or damage during the fully automated journey. As liability is transferred, fully automated driving is significantly more complex and must be better safeguarded than highly automated level 3 driving, in which the driver may temporarily turn away from the traffic, but must be able to take over responsibility again at short notice when requested to do so by the system.

GAC Aion and Didi Chuxing joined forces in 2021 to develop a self-driving electric car. This development is now apparently nearing completion: the first model is said to have finalised the product definition and is currently undergoing a design review, according to Chinese media reports. As the vehicle platform itself is known, realisation could then take place relatively quickly.

GAC Aion presented the AEP3.0 in November 2022. This is a 900-volt platform that supports charging capacities of up to 480 kW. To date, GAC Aion has primarily developed powerful electric cars from the Hyper series on this platform.

Update 14 April 2025

GAC Aion and Didi have received the operating licence for their joint venture Andi Technology as part of their joint development of autonomous electric cars and plan to start series production at the end of 2025. The first joint Level 4 model will be an SUV based on GAC Aion’s AEP 3.0 electric platform.

For this vehicle, the complete L4 technology stack from DiDi Autonomous Driving will be integrated into GAC Aion’s E/E architecture. Visually, the vehicle resembles the GAC Aion V but has been expanded to include numerous sensor units at the front, sides and on the roof.

Although GAC Aion is working with Didi to drive Level 4 autonomous driving for robotaxis, it is also active in the field of driver assistance through other partnerships. For example, GAC Aion is still working with Pony.ai and plans to launch a car model with Level 3 autonomous driving in the fourth quarter of 2025.

pandaily.com, yicaiglobal.com, carnewschina.com, gac.cn (both update, last in Chinese)