- First model from Seres's new brand Saidou is expected to launch this year with BEV and EREV options.
- The brand will integrate technology from ByteDance's Volcengine and is expected to adopt DeepRoute's smart driving solution.
Chinese automaker Seres Group (HKEX: 9927) is set to launch a new car brand, with its smart driving solution expected to be provided by startup DeepRoute, local media Lanjinger reported Wednesday.
The brand, established in partnership between Seres and ByteDance's Volcengine, is named Chongqing Saidou Technology Co Ltd. Seres plans to officially unveil the new brand and logo at a launch event on June 9, according to the report.
Formerly known as Seres's Landian Technology Co Ltd, the entity recently completed a major shareholding restructuring and secured substantial funding.
In a recent capital increase and share expansion, the company raised about 6.67 billion yuan ($985 million).
Chongqing state-backed Shaci Zhiyuan became the largest shareholder with a stake of about 34.5%. Seres's stake was reduced to about 32.9%, meaning the business will be deconsolidated from the listed company's financial statements.
Battery giant CATL (HKEX: 3750) also participated in the investment, acquiring an approximate 9.89% stake in the company.
Saidou's first model is expected to be officially launched later this year. It is likely a crossover between a sport utility vehicle (SUV) and a sedan, offering both battery electric vehicle (BEV) and extended-range electric vehicle (EREV) powertrain options, according to Lanjinger.
The new vehicle is expected to be produced at Seres's Phoenix plant, which is currently undergoing production line modifications.
The new brand will deeply integrate advanced artificial intelligence (AI) technology from ByteDance's Volcengine, which will be primarily responsible for the joint development of cockpit experiences, such as large models for vehicle-machine interaction, to enhance product competitiveness.
Notably, the model's ADAS (Advanced Driver Assistance System) solution is not expected to adopt Huawei's renowned Qiankun smart driving system.
Shenzhen-based DeepRoute is expected to be the smart driving solution supplier for the new brand, the report said, citing people familiar with the matter.
DeepRoute, which previously received strategic investment from Alibaba, has established deep mass-production partnerships with multiple automakers. The company already has 300,000 vehicles equipped with its urban navigate-on-autopilot (NOA) solution in the consumer market.
To accelerate technological breakthroughs, former DeepSeek R&D head Ruan Chong recently joined DeepRoute as chief scientist. This move is expected to speed up the company's technological iteration in the field of vision-language-action large models.
DeepRoute announced a deep partnership with Volcengine last year to jointly build AI cars. Volcengine provides DeepRoute with robust computing power support to jointly improve the overall training efficiency of AI algorithms.
Volcengine previously released a new generation of automotive AI solutions, and the number of vehicles equipped with its Doubao large model has exceeded 7 million. Meanwhile, DeepRoute achieved a 24% market share in the third-party urban NOA market in 2025.
Launching Saidou is a crucial step for Seres in seeking an independent growth path and helps diversify its business.
Despite the massive success of the Aito brand in partnership with Huawei, Seres is striving to reduce its reliance on a single brand.
($1 = 6.7720 yuan)
