Aito. Intelligent vehicles
Aito is a new electric vehicle brand introduced in 2021. It was created by two major players in the Chinese market, Seres and Huawei, known for its ‘intelligent’ smartphones. The brand’s exotic name is an abbreviation meaning “Adding Intelligence To an Auto”. “From AUTO to AITO, there is only one letter difference, and that is Intelligence”, says Yu Chengdong, head of Huawei Consumer BG. Aito’s new brand plans to produce intelligent vehicles based on Huawei’s more than 30 years of experience in the electronics industry. The Chinese IT giant is responsible for the hardware and software, as well as the supply of electric motors and other parts. This project was initially planned and launched by Huawei. The company will be responsible for marketing and sales. In turn, Seres will control the production at the Sokon plant in Chongqing, China, although here Huawei will also help with information technology. In fact, Aito is Huawei’s brand.
Seres is a former SF Motors, a subsidiary of Sokon (China), established in 2016. In Israel, the brand offers the Seres 3 EV, a compact electric SUV with an eye-catching design, rich equipment and a single electric motor with a capacity of 163 hp. In terms of sales, the Seres brand entered the top 10 leaders of the electric vehicle market in Israel in 2022.
Huawei’s boss, Xu Zhijun, has repeatedly stated in the past that “Huawei doesn”t make cars’. But with the Aito project, Huawei is as close as possible to breaking the promise not to make cars, considering that it is in charge of the project. ‘If you don’t build a car yourself, you won’t have your own car’, declares Huawei. The Aito brand has set itself the ambitious goal of becoming the global top 3 brand of new energy vehicles (plug-in hybrids and electric vehicles) within 5 years. Seres and Huawei will jointly build over a thousand showrooms to sell Aito models. The Aito M5 plug-in hybrid SUV was the brand’s first model. In April 2022, the manufacturer introduced the Aito M7 hybrid SUV, which was followed by the Aito M5 EV electric SUV, introduced in September. Huawei believes that their success will also attract other automotive companies to the Huawei ecosystem.
Aito M5
The Aito M5 SUV is the first creation of two Chinese companies. The plug-in hybrid uses the Seres REEV DE-i platform and is in fact a close relative of the Seres SF5 SUV with a plug-in sequential hybrid system. The M5 comes with two electric motors (one each in front and behind) with a peak output of 224 and 204 hp, and an internal combustion engine (1.5-liter turbocharged unit with 125 hp) rotates the generator to recharge the battery when driving. The vehicle can be used as a hybrid or in electric mode. It accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h in 4.4 seconds. With a fully charged battery and a full tank of gasoline, the M5 travels 1,100 km within the WLTC cycle, while fuel consumption in the combined cycle reaches 0.8 liters per 100 km.
‘From AUTO to AITO, there is only one letter difference, and that is Intelligence’
The new Aito M5 is touted as ‘mobile living space’. The SUV features numerous smart solutions from Huawei: smart driving system, network connectivity, EV control, and smart car cloud. Huawei has developed a multimedia system with a 15.6-inch display and a sound system for the model. In addition, the equipment includes a 10.4-inch virtual dashboard, adaptive LED headlights, ventilated and massaging front seats, adaptive cruise control, all-round cameras and a panoramic roof.
Aito M5 EV
From the M5 hybrid version, the Aito M5 EV differs in a slightly modified front end and more aerodynamic wheels, while the rear ends of both versions are identical. The electric version offers an updated center console with a wide wireless charging shelf for two smartphones and a driving mode selector with a crystal knob, other elements are the same. The electric SUV will be offered in two versions: a rear-wheel drive version with one motor and an all-wheel drive version with two motors. Both are equipped with an 80 kWh battery, providing a driving range of 620 km or 552 km (according to the CLTC cycle), respectively. The maximum output of the rear-wheel drive version is 272 hp and 360 Nm, while the all-wheel drive version offers 496 hp and 675 Nm. It takes the SUV 7.1 or 4.5 seconds to accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h, while the maximum speed is 200 or 210 km/h, respectively.
