Aito Opens New M8 Presales at 389,800 Yuan as Seres Takes Over Marketing

Under the new division of labor, Seres will lead product definition and design, brand marketing, channel retail and service systems, while Huawei Terminal will participate as an enabler. Because of the development cycle, however, the new M8 was still designed mainly by Huawei's team; the operating and marketing work is where Seres has taken over.

Two days before the presales, Yu Chengdong again mentioned Aito at a HarmonyOS Smart Mobility event. He reiterated the cooperation adjustment and said more resources and energy would be devoted to Zunjie, Xiangjie, Zhijie and Shangjie. Zhijie RX, Zhijie R7 and Xiangjie V8 appeared on stage that day. Had the cooperation model not changed, the Aito M8 would have been expected to appear at that event as well. The new M8 now carries familiar Huawei technology, but no longer has the promotional lineup with Yu Chengdong personally appearing. Aito did not hold a launch event and announced the presale price with a poster.

The new M8 keeps its dimensions at 5,190 mm by 1,999 mm by 1,795 mm, with a 3,105 mm wheelbase. It offers five- and six-seat layouts and uses an 800V architecture across the range. The through-type light bar and horizontal chrome trim remain, while the lower front fascia switches to a glossy black diamond mesh. Two new colors, Tianmu Qing and Cangrong Green, are added. Details include semi-hidden door handles, revised taillight internals and new wheel designs.

Inside, the M8 adopts a triple-screen layout similar to the new M9, with instrument, center and passenger displays stretched horizontally and narrower black borders. Air vents below have been slightly adjusted, making the center console look flatter. The diamond quilting extends from the seatbacks to the cushions and leg rests, with matching stitching on the door panels. A new Gravel Brown interior pairs brown trim with light-colored seats, while Lanyue White uses a larger area of light color with blue accents. The six-seat version keeps a 2+2+2 layout and is described with three zero-gravity seats. From the images, only the right side of the second row has a zero-gravity seat, while the left side lacks a leg rest; the other two zero-gravity seats may be formed by folding the second-row seats with the third row. The five-seat version's second row also has a leg rest only on the right side. Official images show that folding the front passenger seat flat can connect with the second-row right seat to create a larger resting space. The new M8 also uses a rear entertainment screen, a more conventional solution than the previous projection-based setup for the family cabin.

On intelligence, the new M8 carries Huawei ADS 5 and standardizes an architecture designed for L3 autonomous driving across all trims, along with a new omnidirectional stereo fusion perception system. The perception hardware uses one 896-line dual-optical-path image-grade main lidar and three solid-state blind-spot lidars covering the sides and rear of the vehicle.

The model continues to offer range-extender and pure-electric versions. According to MIIT filing information, the range-extender version uses a 1.5T generator. Batteries are about 56 kWh and 75.4 kWh for the range-extender version, and about 97.6 kWh and 120 kWh for the pure-electric version. The long-range pure-electric version has a range of 830 km, while the top range-extender version has a combined range of 1,435 km. For comparison, the current range-extender version's large battery is 53.4 kWh, and the pure-electric version is 100 kWh. The chassis has also been upgraded with dual-chamber air suspension and dual-valve CDC dampers to balance road filtering and body support. Rear-wheel steering of plus or minus 8 degrees makes the SUV, which is more than 5 meters long, more flexible in garages and narrow-road U-turns.

Seres and Aito are still in a handover period. As noted, the new M8's product definition predates the transfer of operating rights, so it remains a Huawei-led model, while presales promotion has been taken over by Seres. Before the presales, HarmonyOS Smart Mobility's official social media accounts posted very little about the new M8, and Aito's own account also failed to build up presale momentum. Skipping a launch event and directly announcing the price is simpler and more direct, but after the cooperation adjustment, outsiders are waiting to hear Seres explain what comes next for Aito. The presales could have been a chance to speak, yet Seres did not use it to clarify its thinking. Previously, Aito could use HarmonyOS Smart Mobility events and Yu Chengdong's narration to present Huawei technology and premium positioning; now Seres needs to explain to consumers why the new M8 is worth buying and why Aito is worth buying.

It is still too early to draw conclusions about Seres's future. Seres has a complete system covering manufacturing, supply chain and delivery, and has accumulated a large user base. Those users' real needs and vehicle feedback can support the development of Aito's next product. Compared with the M8, which has already entered presales, the future new M7 and M9 are where Seres truly needs to make its effort, using its accumulated experience to polish product definitions more fully. On technology, Aito also has sufficient reserves. According to the official line, Aito remains part of HarmonyOS Smart Mobility, and Huawei's intelligent technology will continue to be applied to Aito. In addition, Seres holds a 10% stake in Yinwang, and Kangbo also responded clearly on guarantees for future technology, products and supply. Despite the change in cooperation model, Aito still has solid technology accumulation to prepare for its next-generation models. From technology to manufacturing, Seres has no shortage of strong cards, but after the Aito M8, what the next Aito should look like will still have to be decided by Seres itself.