GAC — from Guangzhou joint ventures to Trumpchi, Aion and Hyptec

GAC at a glance

From a machine shop to Guangzhou Peugeot

The group counts the Tongsheng Machining Plant, founded in 1948, as the predecessor of its car works. Its first big step into passenger cars came with Guangzhou Peugeot Automobile, a joint venture of PSA Peugeot Citroën and the Guangzhou city government. It ran from 1985 to 1997 and built about 100,000 cars in that time.

The venture lost money and closed in 1997. The city then looked for a new partner, and the way it filled the gap shaped the company for the next twenty years.

Honda and Toyota: the joint-venture years

In May 1998 the Guangzhou government and Honda set up Guangzhou Honda Automobile to replace the Peugeot venture. Each side holds 50 per cent. The first car, an Accord of the American type, appeared in March 1999 together with the first 4S dealership. By 2005 the venture sold 203,200 cars a year, fifth in mainland China according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers. In 2011 it had two plants and claimed a capacity of 480,000 cars a year. In 2011 it also launched Everus, its first China-only brand.

Toyota followed. Guangzhou Toyota was founded on 1 September 2004, again as a 50:50 joint venture, and was renamed GAC Toyota in December 2008. Production began in May 2006 with the Camry. The Yaris followed in May 2008, the Highlander in May 2009, a Camry Hybrid in April 2010 and the Levin in July 2014.

In 2005 the company became a joint-stock holding of the Guangzhou Automobile Industry Group. Its Hong Kong listing came on 30 August 2010 through a share swap with Denway Motors, and a Shanghai listing followed in 2012. More partners joined in these years. GAC Fiat was incorporated on 9 March 2010 and opened a plant in Changsha on 28 June 2012. GAC Mitsubishi started operations in September 2012. GAC also bought 51 per cent of the commercial vehicle maker Gonow in 2010 and took over Changfeng Automobile in 2011.

Trumpchi: the first own brand

GAC began building facilities for its own brand in 2008. In September 2010 the Trumpchi GA5 saloon entered mass production. It was a four-door mid-size car based on the platform of the Alfa Romeo 166. The first 500 cars went to the organising committee of the 2010 Asian Games in Guangzhou in October. Public sales began after the car's launch at Auto Guangzhou in December 2010.

Sales grew slowly at first, to about 17,000 cars in 2011 and 32,000 in 2012. The range then moved towards SUVs and people carriers:

Trumpchi sales reached 535,277 in 2018. Outside China the brand is sold as GAC Motor. Exports were announced in 2012 and began with Kuwait in 2013, then Lebanon, Nigeria and Bahrain. A launch in the United States, planned for 2019 with the GS8, was postponed indefinitely on 22 May 2019 because of the trade dispute and tariffs. The Trumpchi GS4 coupé SUV has its own page on 1cars.

Aion and Hyptec: the electric turn

On 28 July 2017 the group set up GAC New Energy Automobile to develop connected electric cars. Aion appeared as its electric sub-brand in 2018, and the first model, the Aion S saloon, was shown at Auto Guangzhou in November 2018. In 2019 GAC announced twelve new models, including the Aion LX, V and Y. In November 2020 the company was renamed GAC Aion and separated from the rest of the group.

Growth was fast:

In 2021 GAC Aion said the Aion V would use a graphene battery that could charge from 0 to 80 per cent in 8 minutes. It also announced a 480 kW, 1,000 V charging station. The more expensive Hyper line was created in September 2022 and renamed Hyptec in August 2024. Its first product, the SSR sports car, was revealed in September 2022 and entered production in October 2023. The Hyptec GT saloon went on sale in July 2023, and the HT SUV followed in November 2023.

Overseas expansion and the group today

From 2023 the group moved more quickly abroad. Aion entered Thailand in September 2023 with the right-hand-drive Aion Y Plus and began assembling cars there in July 2024. Mexico followed in November 2023, then Hong Kong, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam in 2024. An Indonesian plant with a capacity of 20,000 cars a year opened on 10 June 2025. Brazil came in May 2025 and Australia in November 2025. In April 2026 Aion entered the United Kingdom through Aion Auto UK, a joint venture with Jameel Motors.

At home the picture changed. Own-brand sales fell from the 2023 peak of 886,508 to 789,475 in 2024 and 613,563 in 2025, as Aion sales dropped. In September 2024 GAC BYD applied to give up its production licence. In 2024 the group took over GAC Hino and turned it into GAC Commercial Vehicle in 2025. A new brand, Aistaland (Qijing), was launched with Huawei on 19 September 2025. The joint ventures with Honda and Toyota continue alongside the own brands.

The GAC models on 1cars are in the GAC catalogue. The two partners that built the group are covered in the history of Honda and the history of Toyota. For electric family cars of the same class, see the best electric SUVs.

GAC timeline

Landmark GAC models

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