Huawei has restructured its cooperation with Seres on the Aito brand, handing over control of product, marketing, sales and service to the Chongqing-based automaker, according to a report by Chinese tech outlet Huxiu. The change, announced on September 15, keeps Huawei's Qiankun smart-driving system and Harmony cockpit in Aito vehicles, but marks a clear shift in who runs the business day-to-day.
The adjustment comes as Huawei sharpens its strategic focus on AI and chip development. Two days after the Aito announcement, Huawei's rotating chairman Wang Tao outlined seven priorities at the company's Connect conference in Shanghai, with computing power at the core of its AI strategy. Huawei监事会主席郭平 (Guo Ping), chairman of the supervisory board, reiterated that Huawei will not build cars itself and will continue to lead Yinwang, its intelligent-vehicle solutions unit.
An asymmetric partnership
Huxiu describes the original Aito deal as an "asymmetric business." For Seres, cars are its entire business, and Aito's survival matters to the company's future. For Huawei, the auto business is one division among many, and AI and chips are now existential priorities. The report quotes Seres chairman Zhang Xinghai saying in June that memory chip prices had risen five-fold and lithium carbonate from 80,000 yuan per tonne to 180,000 yuan, adding 15,000 to 20,000 yuan to each Aito vehicle's cost. Seres forecast a first-half loss of 1.5 billion to 1.8 billion yuan.
Industry-wide, China's auto manufacturing profit margin fell to 3.4% in the first five months of 2026, the lowest in five years, according to the report. Aito sales in August totaled 20,652 units, down nearly half year-on-year, as the brand faced model-change gaps and public relations challenges.
The financial strain on Seres is visible in its payments to Huawei. The company pays Yinwang for hardware and a technology license fee of about 2% of revenue, plus about 8% of channel service fees to Huawei's consumer business. Huxiu calculates Seres paid Huawei entities a cumulative 111.335 billion yuan from 2022 to 2025, roughly 30% of its total revenue over that period, while its net profit excluding non-recurring items was just 1.482 billion yuan.
What happens to Aito in Huawei stores
Reports differ on whether Aito will leave Huawei's retail network entirely. Some media say Aito will exit Harmony Intelligent Mobility and Huawei-branded stores at the start of next year; others, citing sources close to Seres, say stores will split into Aito-only sections and mixed displays with other Harmony brands. There is no official confirmation yet.
Huawei's retreat from day-to-day Aito management raises concerns among existing owners about service commitments and resale values, especially for the Aito M9, which sells in the 400,000 to 500,000 yuan range (roughly $56,300 to $70,400, Chinese guide price before taxes and incentives). Buyers may also question whether product quality and standards will hold up without Huawei's deep involvement.
The restructuring follows a series of steps separating the two companies. In 2024, Huawei established Yinwang to house its automotive solutions business, while Harmony Intelligent Mobility remained under Huawei's consumer division. Seres bought the Aito trademark and design patents for 2.5 billion yuan and later paid 11.5 billion yuan for a 10% stake in Yinwang.
Huxiu notes that Aito accounts for over 65% of Harmony Intelligent Mobility's sales, making the brand central to the alliance's fortunes. The report suggests the partnership had reached a point where both sides found the arrangement unsustainable, with Seres struggling to pay and Huawei seeing limited returns relative to its investment. As Huawei pivots toward AI and computing, the auto business may no longer command the same strategic priority.
