China's luxury car brand that's come from behind to overtake BMW
Aito, through its popular M9 SUV, became the best-selling car brand in China last year in the 500,000 yuan and above category. PHOTO: AFP
BEIJING – In under four years, Seres Group, a small Chinese automaker once best known for its 30,000 yuan minivans, has beaten luxury legacy names like BMW and Mercedes to become the nation's hottest high-end car seller.
Formerly called DFSK Motor, Seres partnered with telecommunications giant Huawei Technologies back in 2021 to launch the Aito brand of premium electric and hybrid sport utility vehicles. Since then, Seres has had a dizzying rise. Sales tripled in three years to around 427,000 vehicles in 2024, while the company's Shanghai-listed stock is up 120 per cent.
Aito, through its popular M9 SUV, became the best-selling car brand in China last year in the 500,000 yuan and above category, despite the vehicle only being launched at the end of 2023.
Deliveries of the spacious model, which features Huawei's Harmony operating system, a triple-screen dashboard and options such as a dual-zone refrigerator and ambient lighting, were around 151,000 units, according to data from Shanghai-based automotive consultancy ThinkerCar.
The M9's most basic battery EV version starts from 509,800 yuan.
Aito's flagship models are 'reshaping the luxury car market in China,' Seres chairman Zhang Xinghai said at the Shanghai auto show in April. 'Aito's success today is thanks to the market's recognition and customers' preferences.' Outside of the M9, Aito's latest premium model is the M8, a slightly smaller SUV launched earlier this year.
China's luxury segment was seen as the last slice of the automotive market relatively insulated from the EV transition that's left mass market foreign carmakers such as Volkswagen and General Motors struggling to catch up. It's often thought that newer EV manufacturers with zero pedigree couldn't match the brand prestige they offered. Aito has proven that wrong, and shown how Chinese consumers' luxury tastes are shifting.
It's also testimony to the success of China's smartphone makers Huawei and Xiaomi Corp. When the pair, independently, first started talking about entering the EV market around four years ago, they faced a large amount of skepticism. Xiaomi's sales have been impacted by a fatal crash involving one of its vehicles in late March, but despite that, its SU7 sedan continues to see healthy demand.
Fronting a media briefing in 2022, Mr Zhang said many doubted that Seres, which up until that point mainly made cheap minivans, and Huawei, which had never made vehicles before, could manufacture a luxury marque.
Seres' success faces some challenges, however. The luxury car market in China experienced a 23 per cent decline in 2024, ThinkerCar data show, impacted by the nation's economic slowdown and weak consumer sentiment.
There's also the ongoing price war. The sticker price for most of the 2025 refreshes of the M9 was cut by between 10,000 yuan and 20,000 yuan and Aito is starting to fall behind. In January and February, Mercedes delivered 22,160 vehicles and BMW, 18,130, to overtake Aito at 17,190 units, according to ThinkerCar. Seres' overall sales also slumped in first quarter, falling by 42 per cent.
A more unique hurdle to Seres lies in its tie-up with Huawei.
The technology giant is setting up similar in-car software deals with other manufacturers. It's launched EV ventures like Luxeed with Chery Automobile, and Stelato, with BAIC Motor, which also target the high-end market. That's led to concerns around homogenisation and cannibalisation. Even some of Seres' European competitors, such as BMW, have teamed up with Huawei to offer intelligent features in their vehicles.
Richard Yu, who oversees Huawei's consumer business group, is sanguine, saying the Aito premium brand has had its share of setbacks in its short life.
'It's hard work every time we build a brand, especially luxury brands,' Mr Yu said at a product launch last September. 'But we won't give up and will keep persisting,' he said, adding that Huawei is determined to make a success out of every automotive brand it launches with partners, not just Aito. BLOOMBERG
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