Aito plans to launch a new model, the M8, in 2024, when it will have at least four models on sale, according to local media.

(Image credit: CnEVPost)

Chinese tech giant Huawei-backed new energy vehicle (NEV) brand Aito is targeting sales of 600,000 units in 2024, local media outlet LatePost said in a report yesterday, citing several people familiar with the matter.

Aito launched its flagship SUV, the M9, yesterday, after already having two models on sale, the M5 and M7.

The brand plans to release and mass-produce a new model, the M8, in 2024, when it will have at least four models on sale, according to LatePost.

Aito has already communicated its 2024 sales targets to upstream supply chain manufacturers, LatePost's report noted.

Sales targets are dynamically adjusted based on internal and external circumstances, and the company's joint business with Huawei has an unchanged goal of achieving sales of 1 million units in 2026, the report said, citing a response from Aito's parent company Seres Group.

In the fourth quarter of each year, carmakers typically send their supply chain a sales plan for the following year so that suppliers can make material, capacity, personnel, and financial preparations.

Aito is a premium car brand launched by Seres with Huawei on December 2, 2021, with the first model, the Aito M5, being unveiled on December 23, 2021, and offered in both EREV and BEV versions.

On July 4, 2022, Aito launched its second model, the M7. On September 12 this year, the brand launched a new version of the M7, allowing for a significant reduction in price. The M7 is available only in EREV versions.

Yesterday, Aito officially launched the M9, available in EREV and BEV versions. The flagship SUV has garnered 54,000 pre-orders since pre-sales began on September 25, said Richard Yu, Huawei's head of automotive business, at the model's launch.

On February 25, Seres and Huawei signed a joint business deepening cooperation agreement with the goal of the business producing and selling more than one million NEVs in 2026.

Yesterday, another local media outlet, Cailian, citing sources close to Huawei, reported that Aito will launch the new M5 in the first half of next year, with the M8, positioned between the M7 and M9, coming in the second half of next year.

Aito is the latest brand to be reported to have ambitious 2024 sales targets, with 2023 coming to a close.

On November 7, 36kr reported that Nio provided its supply chain with a 2024 sales forecast of more than 230,000 units, Xpeng at more than 280,000 units and Li Auto at more than 800,000 units.

That sales forecast for Nio excludes the sub-brand codenamed Alps and Xpeng excludes the new brand codenamed Mona, the 36kr report said.

An unspoken rule is that carmakers usually give high forecasts, while the supply chain partners make their own judgments based on the competitiveness of the models and the business results of the carmakers, the 36kr report noted.

Nio gives over 230,000 sales forecasts for 2024 to supply chain, Xpeng 280,000, Li Auto 800,000, report says