Chinese electric vehicle (EV) brand Aito has launched a five-seat SUV with limited autonomous-driving capabilities, as its backer Huawei Technologies accelerates its push into mainland China’s automotive sector.
The M9, starting at 469,800 yuan (US$65,981), displays more than 10 years of Huawei’s technology development and paves the way for the company to form partnerships with more EV makers in the future, Richard Yu Chengdong, chairman of the company’s consumer business group, said at a launch event in Shenzhen on Tuesday.
“Our goal is to enable more people to access the best and most affordable smart car technologies,” he said. “The M9 model marks a new start for us because we made meticulous efforts to design each part of the car.”
The SUV, which aims to lure customers away from Tesla’s popular Model Y, can navigate the streets of mainland cities with the latest version of Huawei’s Advanced Driving System software.
The car comes in two variations: a pure-electric edition that can go as far as 630km on a single charge, and an extended-range version with a range of 1,362km.
