- Seres takes an equal 33.3% stake in Ionchi alongside BMW and Mercedes-Benz.
- The expanded three-party partnership aims to accelerate the roll-out of premium EV charging infrastructure across major Chinese cities.
Seres Group announced on Friday that it has become a new shareholder in Ionchi, the premium high-power charging joint venture between BMW and Mercedes-Benz in China.
The move marks a rare three-way partnership between the Chinese automaker and the two prominent German luxury car giants.
Ionchi was established in 2024 as a jointly built company in China with equal shareholding between BMW Brilliance and Mercedes-Benz.
With the official addition of Seres as an equal investor, the three automaker shareholders will now each hold a 33.3% stake in the joint venture.
Aito, the premium EV brand under Seres, will directly support and benefit from the continued construction of Ionchi's supercharging infrastructure in China.
Ionchi is dedicated to elevating the overall premium electric mobility experience in the Chinese market through a public high-power charging network.
The charging network prioritizes layouts in core urban commercial districts, combining ultra-fast and reliable charging capabilities with high-quality daily station operations and customer service.
According to a plan announced in 2023, the joint venture aims to build at least 1,000 supercharging stations offering around 7,000 high-power charging piles in China by the end of 2026.
As of December 2025, Ionchi had built 430 supercharging stations, providing 2,408 charging points across 37 cities.
Although Ionchi's supercharging network is designed to provide public charging services to all eligible EV users, customers of BMW, Aito, and Mercedes-Benz will be able to enjoy an exclusive premium charging experience.
These exclusive brand benefits include online charging reservations and priority power allocation.
BMW and Mercedes-Benz welcomed the addition of Aito and will work with the new partner to unlock new growth opportunities in geographic network expansion and service innovation.
The transaction remains subject to final regulatory approval, which is typically a standard procedure for such joint ventures to operate in China.
This comes just ahead of Aito's upcoming launch of new models on April 22, including the Aito M6, which already began pre-sales last month.
