(Yicai) Oct. 23 -- Guangxi Automobile Group, one of the three carmaking owners of the SAIC-GM-Wuling joint venture, has entered the highly competitive Chinese new energy passenger vehicle market after putting on sale the first model of its new brand Aishang.

Guangxi Auto launched the mini Aishang A100C yesterday, priced between CNY39,800 and CNY 52,800 (USD5587 - USD 7412). The car, which is 3.3 meters long, 1.7 meters wide, and 1.6 meters tall, is equipped with a 17.65 kilowatt-hour lithium iron phosphate battery and has a range of 220 kilometers based on the China Light-Duty Vehicle Test Cycle.

The Aishang A100C was jointly developed by Wuling NEV, a unit of Guangxi Auto, and passenger car maker Henan Senyuan Electric Vehicle, with the Chinese characters for Senyuan written on its rear end.

The launch of Aishang is a significant starting point for Guangxi Auto's passenger vehicle business, said Chief Executive Chen Xiaofeng. The brand will rely on the firm's existing business advantages and integrate production, research and development, and marketing resources from its smart factory in Xuchang, China's central Henan province, Chen added.

Competition in China's NEV market is high, but a window of opportunity for strategic development has opened, noted Liu Jinhu, CEO of Wuling NEV. The market of A00-class, or ultra-compact EVs, has maintained an annual growth rate of around 30 percent, creating market opportunities, Liu pointed out.

Guangxi Auto aims to sell 100,000 Aishang A100C units a year, matching its annual production capacity, while adopting a "one dealer in one designated region" channel strategy, with over 100 dealers nationwide, Yicai learned. The brand will introduce three to five models over the next three to five years and focus on the development of A00-class, A0-class, and A-class economical new energy passenger vehicles.

Wuling NEV plans to go public and will promote financing and listing work, Chen noted, adding that it will release new progress by the end of this year or the first half of next year at the latest.

Guangxi Auto owns 5.9 percent of SAIC-GM-Wuling, a JV known for its popular mini EVs, with SAIC Motor holding 50.1 percent and General Motors' China arm the rest.

Editor: Martin Kadiev