A ceremony was held in Wuxi, Jiangsu province on September 16 for delivering the first batch of SAIC MAXUS V80 vans to Ireland’s national postal service An Post, after the Chinese carmaker won a contract for supplying 260 units to the company through an Irish government procurement program.

The V80s had obtained the European Union’s rigorous ECE and WVTA certifications and been subject to strict procurement criteria and procedures. After three rounds of highly competitive biddings, the V80 gained an upper hand over the vehicles offered by world-class carmakers such as Mercedes-Benz, Toyota and Ford.

In as early as 2011, when it was founded, MAXUS had made plans for making a return to the EU market, but did not make a breakthrough until 2014.

The company’s products meet EU standards with regards to engine, emissions and safety requirements and have passed ECE and WVTA reviews, thus reaching levels comparable to those made by some of the world’s auto giants.

In addition, MAXUS plans to make a return to its home market, the UK, export new energy vehicles to the Netherlands and tap the Turkish market as well, as part of its strategy to expand its presence in Europe and other parts of the world.

From January to August, MAXUS saw exports hit 2,526 units, accounting for 11.6 percent of its total sales in the same period. So far, its products have been exported to 33 countries and regions around the world, covering South America, the Middle East, Africa, Australia and New Zealand, and Europe, with remarkable performance on markets in developed countries. It sold a total of 1,104 units in Australia from January to August and made the top three in New Zealand’s wide-body light buses market with a share of 15 percent.