Aiways: owner, models, markets and what the name means
Facts checked United States status as of 4 September 2026
- Electric-native
- restructuring
Aiways was set up in 2017 by Fu Qiang and Gu Feng and took an unusual route for a Chinese startup: rather than fight for share at home, it aimed at Europe almost immediately. The U5 crossover went on sale in China in 2019 and reached European buyers in 2020, which made Aiways the first wholly Chinese brand to sell an electric car in Europe under its own name. It shipped cars by rail across Eurasia, a 16-day journey against six weeks by sea, and put 500 U5s into a Hertz rental fleet in Corsica in July 2020. The U6 SUV coupe followed from 2021, styled under the former Ferrari designer Ken Okuyama.
The finances did not hold. Salaries were suspended and production stopped in the middle of 2023, and the leadership changed in August that year with a strategy refocused on overseas markets. In March 2024 Chinese state authorities were reported to have placed the company in bankruptcy protection alongside co-investors, and in May 2024 Aiways withdrew from the Chinese market and announced a US$400m Nasdaq listing by merging with the Hudson Acquisition special-purpose acquisition company.
The European arm has continued to operate. Its site still lists the U5 and U6 for European markets, and in a notice dated 1 November 2025 Aiways Europe told customers that warranty repairs would no longer be handled exclusively through the A.T.U. workshop chain, that any qualified workshop could carry them out, and that diagnostic tools were still unavailable while it worked with Aiways China on a solution — which is a fair summary of the brand's position: still selling, still short of support from the factory.
Founded independently in 2017. In 2024 the company was reported to have entered a state-supervised bankruptcy protection process with co-investors, and to have agreed a US listing through a special-purpose acquisition company; ownership today could not be established for this record.
Salaries were suspended and production halted in mid-2023. In March 2024 Chinese authorities were reported to have put the company into bankruptcy protection with co-investors; in May 2024 Aiways left the Chinese market and announced a US$400m Nasdaq listing through the Hudson Acquisition special-purpose acquisition company. The European operation was still trading in November 2025, when Aiways Europe told owners that warranty work would no longer go exclusively through the A.T.U. chain and that it was working with Aiways China on diagnostic tool access.
Key facts
| Chinese name | 爱驰 “eye-CHIR” 爱 ài 'love' + 驰 chí 'to speed, to gallop' |
|---|---|
| Also written | AIWAYS and Ai Chi |
| Owner | Independent |
| Founded | 2017 |
| Headquarters | Shanghai, China |
| Origin | China |
| First car | Aiways U5, 2019 |
| Vehicles | Cars |
| Segment | Electric-vehicle start-up |
| United States | Never sold in the United States — Aiways has never sold cars in the United States. It announced a Nasdaq listing through a special-purpose acquisition company in May 2024; that is a share listing, not a sales channel. |
| Official site | www.ai-ways.eu/ |
| Founded | 2017 in Shanghai by Fu Qiang and Gu Feng |
| European first | The first wholly Chinese brand to sell an electric car in Europe under its own name, from 2020 |
| Logistics | Cars shipped to Europe by rail in about 16 days rather than six weeks by sea |
| Trouble | Salaries suspended and production halted mid-2023; bankruptcy protection reported March 2024; exited the Chinese market May 2024 |
| US listing plan | US$400m Nasdaq listing announced May 2024 through the Hudson Acquisition special-purpose acquisition company |
| European support | Aiways Europe notice of 1 November 2025 opening warranty work to any qualified workshop while diagnostic tools remained unavailable |
Who owns Aiways?
No ownership holding is recorded for this entity.
The full ownership page for Aiways · Is Aiways Chinese?
Where Aiways is sold
Recorded in 8 market s: Germany, France, BE, Netherlands, DK, Italy, CH and Israel. Where a company publishes only its principal markets, that is a floor and not a complete list.
| Country | Code | Market page |
|---|---|---|
| Germany | DE | Chinese cars in Germany |
| France | FR | Chinese cars in France |
| Belgium | BE | no page yet |
| Netherlands | NL | Chinese cars in the Netherlands |
| Denmark | DK | no page yet |
| Italy | IT | Chinese cars in Italy |
| Switzerland | CH | no page yet |
| Israel | IL | Chinese cars in Israel |
Aiways: questions people ask
- Is Aiways still trading?
- In Europe, yes. Its European site still offers the U5 and U6 and it was issuing customer notices as recently as November 2025. It left the Chinese market in May 2024 and its Chinese operations have been in difficulty since 2023.
- Who owns Aiways?
- It was founded independently in 2017 by Fu Qiang and Gu Feng. Its ownership after the 2024 bankruptcy protection and the announced US listing could not be established for this record.
- What does Aiways mean?
- The Chinese name is 爱驰 (Àichí), 'love' plus 'to speed'. The company glosses the English name as 'Ai is on the way'.
- Was Aiways the first Chinese electric car in Europe?
- It was the first wholly Chinese brand to sell an electric car in Europe under its own name, with the U5 from 2020 — earlier than the better-known Chinese entrants.
Related
Sources for Aiways
- Wikipedia, Aiways. Read . Founding, models, European markets, rail logistics, the Hertz fleet and the 2023-2024 crisis timeline
- Aiways Europe, Aiways Europe official site. Read . Models offered in Europe and the customer notice dated 1 November 2025 on warranty handling