Huawei Seres Aito Partnership Shifts Brand Leadership to Seres

Aito Partnership Leadership Changes

Huawei Seres Aito Partnership operations are entering a new phase, with Seres taking the lead in Aito's products, marketing, sales, and service while Huawei continues providing support through the Harmony Intelligent Mobility Alliance (HIMA). The change takes effect immediately and expands Seres' responsibility beyond its established manufacturing role. The revised arrangement covers product definition, product design, brand marketing, retail channels, and service operations. HIMA said the move represents a new cooperation model for Aito while confirming that the brand remains within the alliance. Existing customer benefits and future services are also expected to continue without changes under the new structure.

Seres Takes Broader Control of Aito

The revised operating model gives Seres responsibility for a wider range of Aito activities that were previously led by Huawei. Local media outlet Cailian reported that control of Aito's products, marketing, sales, and service would move from Huawei to Seres. The arrangement changes how the two companies divide responsibilities while preserving their broader automotive relationship. Aito had previously operated under a model in which Huawei played a leading role in product definition, vehicle design, and sales channels, while Seres concentrated on manufacturing. The latest adjustment therefore represents a substantial expansion of Seres' operational role within the brand.

HIMA Focus Shifts Across Its Brand Portfolio

HIMA said the revised Aito arrangement will allow it to direct more resources toward accelerating the development and market performance of Luxeed, Stelato, Maextro, and Shangjie. Those four brands will remain under the existing model in which Huawei leads the entire process. Aito is HIMA's first brand and its largest sales contributor, with the premium Aito M9 SUV among its best-known products. Its transition to a different cooperation structure therefore distinguishes Aito from the other four brands within the alliance. HIMA emphasized that Aito remains an alliance member despite the operational changes, maintaining continuity in the overall partnership framework.

Aito Plans an Independent Sales Network

Retail operations will be a central element of the transition. Aito is expected to adopt a dedicated sales model and establish an independent network, according to reports from National Business Daily and Lanjinger citing people familiar with the matter. The reported structure would include directly operated and franchised stores. Lanjinger also reported that some existing HIMA outlets could be transferred to Seres and used exclusively to display and sell Aito vehicles. These reported retail changes were not included in HIMA's official statement, so the specific implementation details remain attributable to the cited media reports rather than the alliance's formal announcement.

Huawei and Seres Partnership Timeline

Huawei and Seres established their automotive partnership in 2021 under Huawei's Zhixuan model, which was built around close cooperation between the two companies. Their first jointly developed Aito model, the M5, began deliveries in March 2022. Aito subsequently reached a cumulative production milestone of 1 million vehicles in January 2026. Seres had also been increasing its control over Aito-related assets before the latest operating change. In July 2024, Seres announced a 2.5 billion yuan deal to acquire Aito-related trademarks and design patents that had been held by Huawei.

Seres Increased Its Financial and Asset Commitment

Seres announced in August 2024 that it would acquire a 10% stake in Huawei's Yinwang, also known as Newcool, for 11.5 billion yuan. The company completed payment for that transaction in September 2025. These transactions expanded Seres' financial and asset involvement in its relationship with Huawei as the companies continued developing their automotive businesses. The latest shift in Aito's operating leadership comes after those earlier moves toward greater Seres involvement. Together, the developments show that the companies' cooperation has continued to evolve from a structure centered heavily on Huawei-led product and channel functions toward a model giving Seres broader responsibility for Aito.

Seres Faces Profitability Pressure

The change in operational leadership comes while Seres is facing weaker financial performance. The company reported a net loss attributable to shareholders of 1.72 billion yuan for the first half of 2026, compared with a profit of 2.94 billion yuan during the same period a year earlier. Seres previously attributed the loss to higher prices for key components and substantial asset impairment charges. First-half revenue declined 7.87% year over year to 57.49 billion yuan. These results provide important financial context for the decision to place broader Aito responsibilities under Seres as the company takes on a larger role in operating the brand.

HIMA Deliveries Also Show Recent Pressure

HIMA's broader sales performance has also faced recent pressure. The alliance delivered 42,101 vehicles in August 2026, a 5.52% decline from the same month a year earlier and its third consecutive monthly year-over-year decline. At the same time, HIMA had previously reported that cumulative deliveries during the first eight months of 2026 increased 10.8% from the corresponding period a year earlier. The contrasting monthly and cumulative figures indicate that the alliance's performance has not moved uniformly throughout the year. Aito's revised operating model will therefore be implemented against a backdrop of both longer-term delivery growth and more recent monthly declines across HIMA.

Aito Partnership Data and Key Changes

The following table summarizes the principal partnership, operational, financial, and delivery figures stated in the article. It distinguishes the latest leadership changes from earlier transactions and performance milestones, providing a compact reference for the evolution of the Aito relationship and the circumstances surrounding the new cooperation model.

Industry Impact & Outlook

The revised Aito structure changes how responsibility is distributed between Huawei and Seres, with practical implications for product planning, retail operations, customer service, and brand management in China. For Seres, the model places more operating functions under its control while the company is dealing with weaker first-half profitability, making execution across Aito's expanded responsibilities particularly relevant. For Huawei and HIMA, the arrangement creates greater separation between Aito and the four brands that remain under Huawei's full-process model. The reported independent sales network and potential store transfers will be important next steps to watch as the companies implement the new structure and clarify how the revised responsibilities operate in practice.

Frequently Asked Questions

What changed in the Huawei and Seres Aito partnership?
The new cooperation model gives Seres broader responsibility for Aito's products, marketing, sales, service, and retail operations while Huawei continues to provide support through HIMA. The change takes effect immediately and represents a different operating structure from the model used by HIMA's other four brands. Aito remains part of HIMA, and the alliance said existing customer benefits and future services will be unaffected. Reported plans for an independent sales network and transfers of some HIMA outlets to Seres add further operational changes, although those specific retail details were reported by local media rather than disclosed in HIMA's official statement.