September 29, 2026 – At the brand’s new product launch yesterday, Richard Yu publicly reaffirmed that AITO is the first brand born within the Harmony Intelligent Mobility Alliance (HIMA) cooperation system. At the current stage, it will continue to receive technological empowerment from Huawei, while day-to-day operational matters will officially be led by its partner Seres. All subsequent service rights and interests for AITO owners will remain fully unaffected.
The detail that truly sparked heated discussion across the industry was a brand introduction slide displayed by Yu on stage. Sharp-eyed observers quickly noticed that the display order of the five HIMA partner brands had changed significantly compared with previously published versions.
In earlier official materials, the five partner brands were listed from left to right as AITO (Seres), LUXEED (Chery), STELATO (BAIC), MAEXTRO (JAC), and SAIC Shangjie (SAIC), with AITO consistently placed at the far-left core position as the inaugural partner brand.
In the presentation slide shown at this launch, however, AITO was moved to the far right of the brand lineup.
The latest order now reads: MAEXTRO (JAC), STELATO (BAIC), LUXEED (Chery), SAIC Shangjie (SAIC), and AITO (Seres).
This shift had already been foreshadowed. Earlier, Huawei’s online store quietly adjusted the brand order within its HIMA section, moving the AITO series to the bottom of the display area. The current official order on Huawei Mall is MAEXTRO, STELATO, LUXEED, SAIC Shangjie, and AITO, compared with earlier versions in which AITO had ranked second after MAEXTRO.
Reports suggest that from January 1 next year, AITO will withdraw from HIMA-branded and Huawei retail stores. According to industry sources, Huawei specialty stores will be divided into two types: one selling only AITO vehicles, and another carrying the remaining four brands—MAEXTRO, STELATO, LUXEED, and SAIC Shangjie.
Many analysts believe the public reordering confirms the implementation pace of Yu’s earlier statements. As AITO gradually shifts to partner-led operations, HIMA’s resource focus is beginning to tilt toward newer, higher-end brands, marking a new operational phase for the multi-brand framework.
Separately, the most expensive version of the AITO M9, the Ultimate Extended Edition, has begun nationwide delivery at a starting price of 649,800 yuan.
