{"id":5341,"date":"2025-05-19T19:40:00","date_gmt":"2025-05-19T19:40:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/autofusiontech.co.uk\/?p=5341"},"modified":"2025-05-20T11:56:41","modified_gmt":"2025-05-20T11:56:41","slug":"a-premium-brand-youve-never-heard-of-is-crushing-bmw-and-mercedes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/autofusiontech.co.uk\/index.php\/2025\/05\/19\/a-premium-brand-youve-never-heard-of-is-crushing-bmw-and-mercedes\/","title":{"rendered":"A Premium Brand You\u2019ve Never Heard Of Is Crushing BMW And Mercedes"},"content":{"rendered":"<div><img width=\"1024\" height=\"575\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-post-image lazyload\" alt=\"\" style=\"margin-bottom: 15px\" loading=\"lazy\" data-src=\"http:\/\/autofusiontech.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Aito-May00002-1024x575-1.jpg\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-13 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:100%\">\n<ul>\n<li>The best-selling luxury brand in China last year was homegrown Aito.<\/li>\n<li>Aito is owned by Seres Group and backed by smartphone firm Huawei.<\/li>\n<li>BMW sold 145k luxury cars in China in \u201924 to Benz\u2019s 127k, Aito\u2019s 151k.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>It\u2019s no secret that Western brands are having a tough time in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.carscoops.com\/tag\/china\/\">China<\/a> after making bank for years. Sales are falling as buyers turn to domestic brands that are gaining ground fast and in some instances overtaking legacy automakers. BMW and Mercedes were comprehensively outsold in 2024 by a brand that didn\u2019t even exist four years earlier.<\/p>\n<div class=\"ad-placement\">\n<div id=\"82503191-e1d1-435a-874f-9c78a2a54a2f\" class=\"_ap_apex_ad\"><\/div>\n<div id=\"0f7e3106-c4d6-4db4-8135-c508879a76f8\" class=\"_ap_apex_ad\"><\/div>\n<p>\t\t\t\tvar adpushup = window.adpushup  = window.adpushup || {que:[]};<br \/>\n\t\t\t\tadpushup.que.push(function() {<br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\tif (adpushup.config.platform !== &#8220;DESKTOP&#8221;){<br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\tadpushup.triggerAd(&#8220;0f7e3106-c4d6-4db4-8135-c508879a76f8&#8221;);<br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t} else {<br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\tadpushup.triggerAd(&#8220;82503191-e1d1-435a-874f-9c78a2a54a2f&#8221;);<br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t}<br \/>\n\t\t\t\t});<\/p><\/div>\n<p><strong>Also: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.carscoops.com\/2025\/03\/aito-gets-70000-pre-orders-for-new-m8-erev\/\">Aito Gets 70,000 Pre-Orders For New M8 EREV<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>That brand is Aito, one that you might not have heard of even if you\u2019re familiar with other Chinese automaker like XPeng, Xiaomi and Nio that we frequently cover here at Carscoops. Aito was born in 2021 when smartphone maker <a href=\"https:\/\/www.carscoops.com\/tag\/huawei\/\">Huawei<\/a> teamed up with Seres Group, a company once known for its basic mini trucks and minivans whose twin kidney grilles were shameless rip-offs of BMW\u2019s.<\/p>\n<p>Two brands, one with no high-end car-building expertise and the other completely new to to car game? It doesn\u2019t sound like the basis for a company that could crush the kings of Western luxury carmaking within a few short years, but that\u2019s exactly what has happened. Seres Group\u2019s total vehicle sales trebled in three years to 427,000 according to figures quoted by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/news\/articles\/2025-05-19\/china-s-luxury-car-brand-that-s-come-from-behind-to-overtake-bmw?srnd=phx-industries-transportation\"><em>Bloomberg<\/em><\/a>, and Aito\u2019s success was a major driver.<\/p>\n<div id=\"taboola-mid-article\"><\/div>\n<div id=\"taboola-mid-article-thumbnails-organic\"><\/div>\n<p><strong>Aito\u2019s Breakthrough Year<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Atio sold 151,000 luxury cars last year \u2013 defined as vehicles costing over \u00a5500,000 ($69k) \u2013 making it the most popular brand in the luxury segment. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.carscoops.com\/tag\/bmw\/\">BMW<\/a> came second with 145,000 units and Mercedes was a distant third having delivered 127,000 cars. Fourth-placed Land Rover scraped 50,000 sales and Porsche, whose China woes are well known, secured fifth spot with 48,0000 units delivered, ThinkerCar\u2019s data shows.<\/p>\n<p>        <a href=\"https:\/\/www.carscoops.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Aito-M9-main.jpg\" data-type=\"inarticle-image-block\"> <\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\n<p>                    <img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"lazy \" src=\"\" alt=\" A Premium Brand You\u2019ve Never Heard Of Is Crushing BMW And Mercedes\" width=\"2200\" height=\"1328\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.carscoops.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Aito-M9-main-1024x618.jpg\" data-type=\"inarticle-image\" \/><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<p>        <\/a>  <\/p>\n<p>Because most of Aito\u2019s models fall below the \u00a5500k luxury threshold, the heavy lifting at the high end was handled by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.carscoops.com\/2023\/12\/huawei-backed-aito-m9-suv-debuts-in-china-with-screens-galore-and-cinema-projectors\/\">the brand\u2019s M9<\/a>, an SUV that\u2019s roughly the same size as China\u2019s long-wheelbase BMW X5 and comes with a triple-screen dashboard and a choice of range-extender and full EV powertrains.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Seres 5 Review: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.carscoops.com\/2025\/04\/2024-seres-5-review-get-past-badge-snobbery-and-youll-find-a-competent-but-pricey-ev\/\">Can A Chinese Newcomer Beat Tesla And BMW In The EV Game?<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Aito isn\u2019t slowing down. The company launched a slightly smaller version of the M9 this year called the M8, which is just 40 mm (1.6 in) shorter, and it\u2019s set to continue cranking up the heat on Western luxury brands in 2025. However, even Aito has to contend with a general slowdown in luxury car demand and an all-out price war. Still, it\u2019s clear that the brand\u2019s rapid ascent is far from a fluke.<\/p>\n<div class=\"ad-placement\">\n<div id=\"9b1169d9-7a89-4971-a77f-1397f7588751\" class=\"_ap_apex_ad\"> <\/div>\n<div id=\"bb7964e9-07de-4b06-a83e-ead35079d53c\" class=\"_ap_apex_ad\"> <\/div>\n<p>\t\t\t\tvar adpushup = window.adpushup  = window.adpushup || {que:[]};<br \/>\n\t\t\t\tadpushup.que.push(function() {<br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\tif (adpushup.config.platform !== &#8220;DESKTOP&#8221;){<br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\tadpushup.triggerAd(&#8220;bb7964e9-07de-4b06-a83e-ead35079d53c&#8221;);<br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t} else {<br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\tadpushup.triggerAd(&#8220;9b1169d9-7a89-4971-a77f-1397f7588751&#8221;);<br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t}<br \/>\n\t\t\t\t});<\/p><\/div>\n<p>        <a href=\"https:\/\/www.carscoops.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/rtewtrew.jpg\" data-type=\"inarticle-image-block\"> <\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\n<p>                    <img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"lazy \" src=\"\" alt=\" A Premium Brand You\u2019ve Never Heard Of Is Crushing BMW And Mercedes\" width=\"1879\" height=\"1253\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.carscoops.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/rtewtrew-1024x683.jpg\" data-type=\"inarticle-image\" \/><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<p>        <\/a>  <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The best-selling luxury brand in China last year was homegrown Aito. Aito is owned by Seres Group and backed by [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5343,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[9],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/autofusiontech.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5341"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/autofusiontech.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/autofusiontech.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/autofusiontech.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/autofusiontech.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5341"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/autofusiontech.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5341\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5344,"href":"http:\/\/autofusiontech.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5341\/revisions\/5344"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/autofusiontech.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5343"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/autofusiontech.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5341"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/autofusiontech.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5341"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/autofusiontech.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5341"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}