The Aiva Origin Concept car. Credit: Autohome Understand China EV’s Market Real-time notifications when critical EV data is released All important data in one place 2,000,000+ data points Become a member Seres, the Chinese automaker behind the successful Aito brand developed with Huawei, has launched a new electric vehicle brand called Aiva as it seeks to reduce its heavy reliance on the tech giant. The strategic move comes as Seres grapples with what industry analysts have dubbed its “Aito dependency syndrome.” In 2025, the Aito brand accounted for over 90% of Seres’ sales volume, with the company delivering 426,000 Aito vehicles out of the total 472,000 units sold that year. Aiva brand AIVA, an acronym for “Artificial Intelligence Voyage Ahead,” was officially introduced on June 9 alongside its Origin Concept vehicle. The brand positions itself around AI-powered experiences with what executives describe as “warm AI technology” that responds to users’ real needs, while also carrying the natural semantic association of “love me” in Chinese. Aiva’s logo is made up of the letters A and i. The company’s first production model, the ME7, is scheduled to launch before the end of 2026, with all Aiva models targeting the mainstream market above 200,000 yuan (27,600 USD). Partnership with ByteDance In a notable departure from its collaboration with Huawei, Aiva has partnered with ByteDance’s Volcano Engine to integrate the Doubao large language model into its vehicles. The partnership focuses on co-developing intelligent cockpit experiences with multi-modal interaction, emotion perception, and scenario-based recommendations, along with integration with ByteDance’s Douyin and Feishu ecosystems. The official photo of Aiva Origin Concept. For autonomous driving capabilities, Aiva will not adopt Huawei’s Qiankun ADS system, opting instead for a partnership with DeepRoute.ai, according to company disclosures. ByteDance has clarified that it has no plans to manufacture vehicles or launch its own automotive brand, emphasising that its collaboration with Aiva is limited to providing large model and intelligent cockpit technical services. Aiva Origin Concept. Origin Concept design The revealed Origin Concept vehicle features a coupe SUV design with dynamic styling, language communication headlamps, hood air channels, muscular body lines, and a roof-mounted LiDAR sensor. The rear showcases a wide-body design with a sloping roofline, exaggerated rear bumper, and prominent spoiler, with autonomous driving indicators positioned conspicuously throughout the vehicle. Strategic Contexc The Aiva launch represents Seres’ determined effort to diversify beyond its Huawei partnership. The collaboration between Seres and Huawei began in April 2021, with the Aito brand achieving remarkable success – the M5 delivered over 10,000 units within 87 days of launch, and the M9 has consistently topped sales in China’s 500,000-plus yuan (69,000 USD) price segment.However, Huawei’s automotive ambitions have expanded significantly, creating partnerships with Chery (Luxeed), BAIC (Stelato), JAC (Maextro), and SAIC (Saic or Shangjie), forming what the industry calls the “Five Realms” strategy that has diluted Seres’ exclusivity. By January 2026, while Aito still represented nearly 70% of Huawei’s Harmony Smart Mobility deliveries, the diversion of Huawei resources had become evident. Corporate Structure Aiva operates under Chongqing Saidou Technology, which underwent a corporate restructuring in late May 2025. The company’s ownership structure now includes Chongqing local state-owned enterprise Shayci Zhiyuan as the largest shareholder with 34.5%, Seres with 32.96% as the second-largest shareholder, and CATL’s Wending Investment holding 9.89%. Market analysts quoted by International Finance suggest Seres’ decision to cede controlling interest aims to avoid potential business conflicts with Huawei. Saidou Technology was previously known as Landian Technology, Seres’ budget-focused brand launched in 2023 to fill the space below 200,000 yuan (27,600 USD). However, Landian’s performance disappointed, with the brand selling fewer than 20,000 vehicles in 2025 and its main E5 Plus model averaging just 500 monthly sales in early 2026. Photos of the Aiva Origin Concept car. For the full year of 2025, Seres sold 472,269 new energy vehicles, with the Huawei-collaborated brand Aito delivering over 420,000 units.
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