AION V earns favourable insurance rating after 12-month collaboration with Thatcham Research

• AION V has been categorised with a group 32 insurance rating, among the best for electric family SUVs from new brands in the UK
• Follows extensive 12-month collaboration with Thatcham Research
• AION V is the brand’s debut model in the UK and launches later this month

London, 16 April 2026 – The new AION V electric family SUV has been awarded a group 32 insurance rating, one of the lowest among emerging brands in this segment. The favourable rating follows exhaustive collaboration with Thatcham Research to optimise the car and its supporting ecosystem ahead of its launch later this month.

The AION V is a C-segment battery electric vehicle with a distinctive exterior, a spacious and luxurious interior fully loaded with comfort and convenience features, with class-leading range and rapid charging times.

Thatcham Research’s insurance ratings assess vehicle risk, ensuring data is available to enable accurate underwriting decisions. These ratings are based on damage and repair costs, performance, safety, and security features.

“From the earliest days of planning our market entry, we focused on optimising all aspects of our commercial and operational processes and, crucially, the readiness of the AION V itself for the UK market,” explains Ben Hurford, Aftersales Director at AION Auto UK. “The team began working with Thatcham Research in mid-2025 on a very diligent and robust project that – with this rating – has achieved a key goal for us ahead of our launch.”

Part of the collaboration with Thatcham Research involved close engagement with AION R&D and manufacturing teams in China to optimise the vehicle’s damage and repair performance for the UK market. In addition, AION is working in close collaboration with UK bodyshop and vehicle repair organisations.

Aside from the product itself, all AION Vs will be backed by an industry-leading aftersales programme, which will be announced in the coming weeks. This will give customers long-term peace of mind, while providing the brand’s retail partners and the bodyshop sector with rapid access to parts, enabling an efficient and cost-effective repair process that minimises costs to insurers.

 “Our work to adapt the AION V for the UK market led to important design changes that will reduce likely damage in the event of a collision. As a result, repair times after an accident are expected to be cut by around 50%,” said Ben Townsend, Head of Automotive at Thatcham Research. “This was made possible through open discussions, strong access to technical teams, and a willingness to act on our recommendations. We’re keen to apply this approach to future models to achieve even better results.”

AION Auto UK’s collaboration with Thatcham Research will continue as the brand prepares to introduce seven models to the UK by 2030. Following the imminent launch of the AION V, the AION UT small electric hatchback will arrive later this year, and a large PHEV SUV by the end of next year.

AION V pricing will be announced shortly, with the first retailers opening their doors during the second quarter of 2026.

To find out more about AION Auto UK, please visit: https://www.aionauto.co.uk/