Seres-backed Saidou launches smart EV brand, partners with ByteDance

By Eduardo Baptista

BEIJING, June 9 (Reuters) - ‌Seres Group-backed Saidou ​Technology ​on Tuesday launched its AIVA artificial intelligence auto brand, partnering with ByteDance on smart cockpit technology as it seeks a foothold in China's crowded ‌electric vehicle mass-market.

The tie-up with the creator of short-video platform TikTok ⁠and Doubao, the most widely used AI model in China, echoes Seres' earlier partnership with telecoms equipment ‌giant Huawei to develop Aito, a ‌premium brand that emerged as one of the strongest performers in China's high-end SUV segment last year.

The launch also marks a reset of Chongqing-based Seres' ambitions ​in less expensive segments. Saidou was previously known as Landian, a mass-market brand whose E5 and E5 Plus SUVs mostly cost 100,000 yuan to 160,000 yuan ($14,770-$23,630).

AIVA President ⁠Li Bo, a former Huawei and Seres executive, said at the launch event that the brand's first mass-production model, ​the AIVA ME7, would be unveiled within the year. He did not disclose pricing.

'PHYSICAL AI'

The debut comes as Chinese automakers race to ​add AI to new models, betting advanced software ‌can help them stand out in a fiercely competitive EV market marked by price cuts and slim margins.

AI has become a fresh ⁠selling point, with carmakers pitching vehicles as personalised assistants rather than simple transport products.

Li said ByteDance's cloud and AI services unit Volcengine would be AIVA's "close partner".

"Our understanding of an AI car ⁠is not just putting AI in a car, but making the car a new species of physical ​AI," Volcengine vice-president Yang Liwei said at the launch.

AIVA's branding has already sparked controversy, however. The unveiling drew a response from Avatr, a premium EV brand backed by Changan Automobile, battery giant ‌CATL and Huawei.

"Today, we saw a brand name appear in the market whose design is extremely similar to Avatr," Avatr said ‌in a post on Weibo, without naming AIVA.

"We regard it as an honour, but even ⁠more as a warning: Chinese cars ‌cannot take the 'Ctrl+C Ctrl+V' road," ​Avatr added, referring to the keyboard shortcut for copy and pasting.

($1 = 6.7701 Chinese yuan renminbi)

(Reporting by Eduardo Baptista. Editing by Kirsten Donovan and ‌Mark Potter)

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