Meet the AION UT, styled by Italy, made for the UK, it’s a small electric hatchback with a rather large chip on its shoulder.

AION reckons this little B-segment machine is about to reset expectations for what a supermini can be. And, on paper at least, it has come armed for a fight.

There’s a 60kWh battery, enough for a claimed 268 miles of range — which, if true, is seriously impressive for something this size. Charging from 30 to 80 per cent takes just 24 minutes, while the 204PS electric motor fires it from 0–62mph in 7.3 seconds.

So it’s not merely economical. It’s properly nippy.

Then there’s the equipment list. Heated front seats, a 14.6-inch touchscreen and a 360-degree camera all come as standard, while the optional Premium Pack piles on a panoramic glass roof, powered tailgate, ventilated driver’s seat and wireless charging.

In other words, this is a supermini that appears to have mistaken itself for a luxury car.

The styling certainly helps. Designed by GAC’s Milan studio for European tastes, the UT has owl-like headlights and a distinctive “ice cube” lighting arrangement. Whether you find that charming or slightly alarming is, of course, between you and your optician.

Importantly, AION hasn’t simply shipped it over and hoped for the best. The UT has been specifically engineered for British roads, with revised springs, dampers, bump-stops, calibration and anti-roll bar settings.

And then there’s the rather generous Great 8 Promise: eight years of warranty, servicing, roadside assistance and MOT. Crucially, the package stays with the car when it changes hands.

Pricing will be confirmed when UK orders open in September, with the first cars arriving in October.