Seres Group, the Chinese automaker behind the Aito brand, used the 2026 TEDA Auto Forum on September 19 to lay out an AI-centric strategy it says is reshaping how it builds cars and manages suppliers. Liu Zongcheng, a Seres executive, described the company's shift from a mechanical-engineering product maker toward what he called an intelligent terminal that can sense, think and learn, according to a report by Gasgoo.
At the heart of the plan is a "1+2+N" cooperation model, with Seres as the lead partner working alongside Huawei and CATL as its two core allies, while staying open to top-tier global industry resources. Liu said artificial intelligence is becoming the core driver of automotive iteration, and predicted that the boundary between cars and robots will keep blurring.
Supply chain consolidation and an "industry brain"
Seres said it has built an "industry brain" that aggregates a knowledge graph with 2 million nodes and more than 20 million data points from vehicle, road and cloud sources. The company claims this has lifted R&D efficiency by 20% and improved on-time order delivery by three percentage points.
The automaker also said it is pushing its supply chain toward a "three-tier" structure, consolidating first-tier suppliers from 300 to fewer than 100, with more than 20 of those being globally leading companies. Seres said this supports a one-hour supply chain.
On the manufacturing side, Seres says it is building an AI-native enterprise, embedding artificial intelligence across research, production and service. The company's super range-extender system can identify more than 1,100 driving scenarios, while its smart manufacturing process covers more than 5,800 inspection points, with AI quality checks exceeding 99% accuracy.
Quality standards and global ambitions
Liu said Seres rejects what he called extensive, low-quality growth and has set a five-high standard covering safety, reliability, performance, experience and value. He cited a recent 7,000-kilometre (4,350-mile) seven-day test across a range of scenarios using vehicles already on sale.
Seres currently has 1.2 million always-online premium vehicles on the road, and Liu said the Aito brand is valued at $3.45 billion, ranking first among Chinese luxury car brands by brand value. He also issued four industry proposals: orderly competition with self-discipline against malicious low pricing and data fraud; open cooperation on vehicle-grade chips and data security through a national collaborative innovation platform; maintaining high standards with real data to build user trust; and entering global markets with a high-quality ecosystem, calling overseas expansion a must-win battle for the next decade.
