Tesla, schmesla. Whereas the world’s favourite EV pioneer took the best part of a decade to break into the mainstream, Aiways has managed it in just five, albeit flying under our radar by taking most of its sales in China.
Founded as a start-up in 2017, Aiways has in short order built a plant with an annual capacity of 300,000, a full R&D centre and a battery factory, all to support ambitions of becoming a global brand by exploiting the oncein-a-century reset of electrification.
Ahead of plans to break into the UK in around 12 months time, we took an exclusive drive in its U5 family crossover around London. The U5 is feted by Aiways for being a clean-sheet, no-compromises EV design, better to extract every inch of space and ounce of efficiency from.
It’s certainly striking, albeit more for its presence than beauty, a knockon of the fact that it has been built to be roomier than many of its rivals. Leg room is strikingly substantial, with limousine-like levels of space for three adults to sit across the rear, even with tall people up front.
Boot space is also generous, at 496 litres (1619 seats down), although the rear seats don’t fold absolutely flat. The front passenger’s knees also benefit from the absence of a glovebox. If you do want somewhere to store bits, you can option a leather case that neatly clips into the recess.
