Huawei is adjusting its smart-car partnership with Seres, handing over day-to-day control of the Aito brand to the automaker, according to a report from Cailianshe cited by Chinese media outlet Huxiu. The change, reported on September 15, means Huawei will no longer deeply lead Aito's product, marketing, sales, and service operations, instead focusing on technology and brand support. Neither Huawei nor Seres has officially commented on the report.
The move follows a series of steps that have gradually separated Aito from Huawei. In 2024, Seres spent 2.5 billion yuan (about $352 million) to buy back 919 Aito trademarks and 44 design patents from Huawei. Later that year, it invested 11.5 billion yuan (about $1.62 billion) to acquire a 10% stake in Huawei's Yinwang, reducing Huawei's share from 100% to 80%. These transactions effectively shifted brand assets to Seres and reduced its reliance on Huawei's smart-car model.
Seres has also been investing heavily in its own technology and brands, including its "Landian" sub-brand, with R&D expenses in the first quarter of this year up more than 70% year-on-year. This suggests Seres wants to keep more profit and control for itself, according to Huxiu.
Why the shift now?
The adjustment comes amid intense competition in China's auto market. Seres' new-energy vehicle sales in August 2026 were 24,244 units, down 43.96% year-on-year. Huawei's broader Harmony Intelligent Mobility alliance, which includes Aito and other brands like Zhijie and Xiangjie, delivered 42,101 units in August, with cumulative deliveries up 10.8% year-on-year. The growth is coming from newer brands, while Aito has slowed significantly.
Huxiu suggests the reason for the change is not simply that Huawei needs to free up resources for its other partners. Huawei's business model with all five "jie" brands is similar: it provides intelligent technology, participates in product definition, and earns service fees or a share of profits. Adding more partners should not require reducing support for an existing one.
Instead, the shift may reflect internal and external pressures. Huawei faces challenges balancing resources among its five partner brands. Reports indicate that Huawei's retail stores can only display three to five cars on average, and Aito, due to high sales, has often occupied more than half of the prime display space, squeezing out other brands like Zhijie and Xiangjie. Chery and Huawei have already made Zhijie independently operated to address this issue.
There is also an internal debate within Huawei between the "smart selection" model, championed by Richard Yu, which involves deep binding with partners, and the "HI model," led by rotating chairman Xu Zhijun, which positions Huawei as a neutral technology supplier. Xu has publicly stated that Huawei and Yinwang treat Seres and other partners equally. Changan's chairman, Zhu Huarong, has been a vocal critic of the smart selection model, questioning whether it aligns with industry norms and consumer protection.
Market pressure adds to the strain
The broader market downturn may also be a factor. According to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, domestic car sales in the first half of 2026 were 9.921 million units, down 21.1% year-on-year, with price wars continuing. This puts pressure on automakers' cost and profit sharing, possibly making deep-binding models less sustainable.
Whether other smart-selection partners will follow Seres' lead and seek more control from Huawei remains to be seen, according to Huxiu.
