Aito, a joint venture new energy vehicle (NEV) brand between Chinese automaker Seres Group and the tech giant Huawei, has produced its one millionth vehicle on Tuesday.
The Chongqing-headquartered company manufactured its first one million vehicles in 46 months — just under two years — setting the “fastest record among new automakers” to reach the milestone.
Aito was launched in December 2021 as the first brand under Huawei’s HIMA (Harmony Intelligent Mobility Alliance) business.
Through HIMA, Huawei has partnered with multiple automakers to produce vehicles equipped with its intelligent systems and software.
In addition to Aito, the alliance includes the premium EV brand Luxeed, launched with Chery; Stelato, developed with BAIC; and Maextro, a luxury-focused brand created with the JAC Group, among others.
The one-millionth Aito vehicle produced was an M9 SUV. The model also reached a milestone of 270,000 units produced on Tuesday.
At the ceremony, Seres founder and chairman Zhang Xinghai announced that the company aims to produce its second million vehicles within the next two years.
Zhang emphasized that this milestone represents not just speed and scale, but also the company’s ability to deliver one million premium vehicles.
He added that Seres’ ambition goes beyond manufacturing premium cars, extending to providing high-quality services to a growing base of high-end customers.
The company currently operates about 400 service centers across China.
Portfolio
Aito debuted with the M5 SUV, which remains its most affordable model to date, priced from 229,800 yuan ($32,950).
Since then, the company has expanded its lineup with the M7, M9, and, more recently, M8 series.
The milestone was further celebrated by Richard (Chengdong) Yu, who serves as the Huawei Executive Director, Chairman of the Product Investment Review Committee, and Chairman of the Terminal BG (Business Group).
Yu wrote on Weibo that “in the +500,000 yuan [$71,700] price segment, 7 out of every 10 vehicles sold are the Aito M9.”
The Aito M9 was launched in December 2023 and accumulated over 260,000 deliveries in just two years — a delivery record for vehicles priced in that segment.
Additionally, the executive stated that “the M8 has held the No. 1 sales position in the 400,000 yuan [$57,360] segment for six consecutive months.”
The M8, available in both five- and six-seat trims, was launched in mid-April.
While it initially debuted only with the extended-range (EREV) powertrain, a fully electric version was introduced in late August.
When considering only fully electric vehicles within this segment, Nio‘s flagship SUV ES8 is the sales leader.
According to Richard Yu, the mid-size M7 SUV, first launched in mid-2022, has reached 400,000 cumulative deliveries.
Considering the 270,000 M9s and 400,000 M7s produced thus far, the M7 is the brand’s best-selling vehicle. The M5 and M8 account for the remaining 330,000 units.
Other Automakers
Aito faces competition from other Chinese new energy vehicle manufacturers, particularly Li Auto with its large EREV SUVs and Nio’s larger EV SUVs.
The recently launched Xiaomi YU7, along with XPeng’s forthcoming EREV models, further heightens competition within this segment.
Li Auto became the first brand to produce one million vehicles, reaching the milestone in October 2024.
It took the company 4 years and 10 months to hit 1 million units, after its first vehicle rolled off the line in December 2019.
By late last year, the company had manufactured its 1.5 millionth unit.
In October 2025, Stellantis-backed Leapmotor announced that it had completed production of its one millionth vehicle, becoming the second automaker to reach the milestone.
The brand rapidly expanded overseas, supported by the extensive global network of the Antonio Filosa-led company.
XPeng produced its 1,000,000th vehicle in November.
The milestone unit was an extended-range X9, the company’s first hybrid model after eight years of only producing fully electric vehicles.
XPeng achieved this milestone just 14 months after reporting its first 500,000 vehicles, a mark that had taken nearly seven years to reach.
At the beginning of the year, Nio held a ceremony for its 1 millionth vehicle produced, an ES8, roughly seven and a half years after the first unit rolled off the production line.
“This is a milestone jointly achieved by the three brands — Nio, Onvo, and Firefly — together with one million users,” the company’s founder and CEO William Li stated then.
Onvo was launched in March 2024, while the Firefly brand debuted in April 2025.
