“Corsican residents and tourists will be among the first in Europe to experience the AIWAYS U5, and what better way to enjoy the island than in our emission-free all-electric SUV,” said Alexander Klose, Executive VP Overseas Operation at AIWAYS, who drove to Corsica from Munich in a U5 to welcome the first vehicles to the island and officially hand them over to local Hertz partner Jean Noel Filippi.

With this shipment, AIWAYS becomes the first Chinese startup to deliver electric vehicles to Europe, at a time when EU countries are ramping up investment in smart, zero-emission transportation and looking to build a sustainable recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Further consignments of the AIWAYS U5 are expected to arrive in Corsica within the next few weeks, joining the Hertz Corsica rental fleet as part of its ‘Electrify Corsica’ project named as E-Motum.

The partnership is part of a wider mission in Corsica to reduce pollution and establish the island as a hub of e-mobility, an initiative that includes a commitment by Hertz Corsica to make 70% of its rental fleet emission-free by 2022.

AIWAYS will start taking online orders for its U5 all-electric SUV from German consumers in late summer, with other European countries like France following shortly after. Customer deliveries are scheduled to commence from September.