A Chinese electric vehicle brand, Aito, has surpassed BMW and Mercedes-Benz at the top of China’s car market. Aito sold 151,000 vehicles last year, with its M9 SUV being a major contributor to its success. The brand, owned by Seres Group and backed by tech giant Huawei, has seen rapid growth since its launch. Aito’s M9, which went on sale in late 2023, features advanced technology including Huawei’s HarmonyOS operating system and a triple-screen dashboard. Seres has tripled its vehicle sales over three years to about 427,000 units, with its stock rising 120% on the Shanghai exchange during the same period. This shift reflects the changing dynamics in China’s premium auto segment, which was once dominated by foreign brands. In 2020, Mercedes-Benz led with 259,000 sales, followed by BMW with 235,000. By 2024, Chinese EV makers like Aito and NIO had entered the top rankings, disrupting the previous ‘BMW, Benz, and Audi monopoly.’ The rise of Chinese EVs is not limited to their home market; BYD outsold Tesla in Europe for the first time in April, and globally in the first quarter of the year.
Aito’s Rise to Prominence
Impact on China’s Premium Auto Segment
The emergence of Aito and other Chinese EV brands has significantly disrupted the premium auto market in China. Once dominated by foreign brands, the market is now seeing a shift towards domestic players. Aito’s sales figures, along with those of other Chinese EV makers, indicate a changing landscape in the world’s biggest auto market. As Chinese EVs continue to gain traction both domestically and internationally, their impact on the global automotive industry is becoming increasingly evident.
