The AITO M5 EV is available in two versions, targeting the market where the Model Y is located with a lower starting price of RMB 288,600 ($41,440).

(Image credit: AITO)

AITO, the electric vehicle brand jointly created by and Seres Group, today officially unveiled its first all-electric model, the AITO M5 EV, targeting the market where the Tesla Model Y is located at a lower price.

Like AITO's other previous models, the AITO M5 EV was launched by Richard Yu, Huawei's managing director and CEO of the intelligent vehicle solutions business Unit, at the tech giant's product launch, underscoring Huawei's involvement.

The AITO M5 EV is available in two versions, including a single-motor rear-wheel drive version with a CLTC range of 620 km and a dual-motor four-wheel drive version with a CLTC range of 552 km.

They are priced at RMB 288,600 ($41,440) and RMB 319,800, respectively, with the former being the post-subsidy price. According to China's current policy, new energy vehicles (NEVs) priced above RMB 300,000 are not eligible for subsidies unless they support battery swap.

The AITO M5 EV is priced lower than the Tesla Model Y in China, which is offered in three versions at RMB 316,900, 394,900 and 417,900 respectively.

Prior to the model, the two models of the AITO brand -- AITO M5 and AITO M7 -- were extended-range electric vehicles (EREVs).

The AITO M5 EV is an all-electric version of the AITO M5 and is a mid-size SUV measuring 4,785 mm in length, 1,930 mm in width and 1,620 mm in height, with a wheelbase of 2,880 mm.

Its single-motor version is equipped with a rear-mounted electric motor with a maximum power of 200 kW and can accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in as fast as 7.1 seconds.

The dual-motor version of the model has an additional front motor with a maximum power of 165 kW and can accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in as little as 4.5 seconds.

Both versions are powered by a lithium iron phosphate battery with a capacity of 80 kWh, supplied by .

For comparison, the three versions of the Tesla Model Y sold in China have a 0-100 km/h acceleration time of 6.9 seconds, 5.0 seconds and 3.7 seconds, and a CLTC range of 545 km, 660 km and 615 km, respectively.

The AITO M5 EV is built on Huawei's DriveONE pure electric drive intelligent platform and is equipped with Huawei's DATS dynamic adaptive torque system with a road-aware response time as short as 4 ms, much lower than the 400 ms of traditional internal combustion engine vehicles, according to Yu.

The model's smart cockpit is powered by Huawei's system and is the first all-electric model to feature HarmonyOS 3, which enables seamless connectivity between the phone and vehicle screen.

The model is available in six exterior color options as well as four interior color options.

AITO is a premium car brand launched by Huawei and Seres on December 2 last year. It launched the AITO M5 on December 23 last year and the AITO M7 on July 4 this year.

Deliveries of the AITO M5 began in March of this year and the AITO M7 was delivered for the first time on August 24.

AITO delivered 10,045 vehicles in August, marking the first time it has exceeded 10,000 deliveries, up 39 percent from 7,228 in July, according to data it announced earlier this month.

Huawei-backed AITO delivers 10,045 vehicles in Aug, to launch M5 EV on Sept 6