- The new brand is targeting the younger and sports-oriented markets and will deeply integrate AI technology from ByteDance's Volcengine.
- Chongqing state capital becomes the largest shareholder of the new brand's operating entity, with Seres' stake recently reduced to 32.5%.
Seres Group (HKEX: 9927), one of Huawei's major partners in the automotive sector, will reportedly launch a new brand targeting the youth and sports market in June.
The project has received financial support from Chongqing local state capital and features deep involvement from ByteDance's Volcengine, according to a LatePost report on Saturday.
The legal entity of this new brand is Chongqing Saidou Technology Co Ltd, formerly known as Landian Technology Co Ltd under Seres Group, the report said.
In a capital increase and share expansion round completed earlier this week, the company secured about 6.67 billion yuan ($984 million) in funding.
Following the completion of registration changes, Shaci Zhiyuan, controlled by the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of Chongqing's Shapingba district, became the largest shareholder with a 34.5% stake.
Seres' stake in the entity dropped to 32.5%, meaning the business will be spun off from the listed company's financial statements, the report noted.
CATL (HKEX: 3750) also participated in the investment, with its subsidiary Wending Investment acquiring an about 9.89% stake. Other shareholders include an employee stock ownership platform and auto supply chain firms such as Jiangsu Bojun Industrial Technology and Changzhou Xingyu.
Volcengine, the cloud service platform under ByteDance, will play a key role in the new brand.
The depth of Volcengine's involvement will exceed previous joint development models, and the collaboration is internally referred to as "Project A" at ByteDance, LatePost cited a person familiar with the matter as saying.
The new brand plans to sell its products in both domestic and overseas markets. Seres has already set up dedicated marketing and channel teams.
The project falls under the global business department of Seres' overseas business unit, highlighting its focus on international markets, according to LatePost.
Saidou Technology will focus on the smart passenger new energy vehicle (NEV) sector, planning to deeply integrate AI technology with the automotive industry, aiming to create a differentiated product matrix with high intelligence and cost-effectiveness, the report said.
Launching the new brand is a significant step for Seres in seeking an independent growth path. Although the Aito brand, co-created with Huawei, has brought substantial development to Seres, the company's revenue and sales volume are highly dependent on it.
In the first quarter of this year, Seres achieved an operating revenue of 25.746 billion yuan, with net profit attributable to the listed company's shareholders reaching 754 million yuan.
Seres' NEV sales in the first quarter reached 78,500 units, a year-on-year increase of 43.9%.
Seres, formerly known as Chongqing Sokon Industrial Group Co Ltd, changed its name to Seres Group Co Ltd in August 2022.
In November last year, the company was listed in Hong Kong. In April this year, it also joined Ionchi, a premium supercharging joint venture between BMW and Mercedes-Benz in China.
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