If you’re currently melting in the heat and craving a lovely, cooling ice cream, EV newcomer Aion has the solution in the form of a FREE ice cream. The catch? You’ll need to take the brand’s new V electric SUV for a test drive. While stocks last – which judging by the freezers at my local Co-op, will be about three hours – anyone who takes a new V out for a spin will bag an ‘ice cream’ as a reward. 

Sadly, the brand's press release doesn't go into detail as to exactly what frozen treat will be given to testers, but the supplied image seems to suggest the kind of 'affordable' lolly your mum would buy rather than something worthwhile like a Magnum. Oh well. 

In a set of circumstances that not even the most optimistic Aion marketing boss could have dreamt of, the new V is being launched with a centre console CoolHot Box that turns out to be the perfect place to store a stash of ice creams. 

Unlike most cooled boxes, the Aion’s 6.6-litre cubby operates across an incredibly broad temperature range, from -15ºC to +50ºC, which makes it the perfect place to keep a bag of frozen peas or a KFC bargain bucket. Although not at the same time, obviously. The box comes as part of the V’s optional Premium Pack, which adds £1,495 to the list price of £36,450. The package also includes massage seats (to help ease the ice cream down your system) and genuine leather upholstery. 

The only snag is that Aion dealers are still few and far between, which means that you may have to drive some distance to bag that free lolly. Although the brand has plans to have a 30-strong dealer network by the end of the year, it currently only has eight showrooms cor the whole UK. 

The V is Aion’s first EV to reach the UK market, with parent company GAC planning to introduce a smaller, more affordable UT supermini by the end of the year. By which point, bosses may have come up with a more attractive name for it. Perhaps something that sounds less like a condition that can be cured with a course of antibiotics. Beyond that, Aion plans to introduce a further two models next year with a vision of having a range of seven fully electric, plug-in hybrid and range-extender cars.

Our very own Batch put the Aion V through its paces earlier this month (sadly before the current ice cream promo was active), and you can find his views on it in this review and video.