Seres Reportedly Teams Up With ByteDance on New Auto Brand Launch in June

Seres plans to unveil a new automotive brand in June, targeting younger consumers with a sportier market positioning, according to a Chinese media report.

The project has reportedly received support from Chongqing state-owned capital, while ByteDance’s Volcano Engine is said to be deeply involved in its development.

The new brand’s debut model is tipped to be a crossover featuring SUV and sedan styling, offered in BEV and EREV versions.

Prior to the reports emerging, Seres had already completed a series of capital and organizational restructuring moves.

On May 30, Landian Technology, previously controlled by Seres, officially changed its name to Saidou Technology.

At the same time, Shaci Zhiyuan, controlled by the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of Chongqing’s Shapingba District, became the largest shareholder with an approximately 34.5% stake, while Seres’ holding was reduced to 32.5%.

Earlier, Landian Technology had completed a capital increase of approximately RMB 6.671 billion ($984 million), bringing in new investors including CATL, Bojun Technology, and Xingyu Automotive Lighting.

Following Seres’ decision to waive its preemptive subscription rights in the latest funding round, Saidou Technology will no longer be consolidated into the listed company’s financial statements.

Reports indicate that Saidou Technology will serve as the operating entity for Seres’ new brand.

The brand is expected to establish an independent sales network and target both domestic and overseas markets simultaneously.

Relevant marketing and channel teams have reportedly already been assembled.

Based on currently available information, this appears to be more than a conventional vehicle program. Instead, it resembles a new business platform designed to support Seres’ next phase of growth.

Over the past few years, the AITO brand has driven Seres’ rapid expansion. In the first quarter of this year, Seres generated revenue of RMB 25.746 billion ($3.80 billion), up 34.46% year-on-year.

During the same period, Seres sold 78,500 new energy vehicles, representing a 43.9% year-on-year increase.

In April alone, its NEV sales reached 33,100 units, with the majority still coming from the AITO lineup.

For an automaker that invests nearly RMB 8 billion ($1.18 billion) annually in research and development, new growth drivers are increasingly important, whether through overseas expansion or the creation of a broader brand portfolio.

According to reports, ByteDance internally refers to the initiative as the “Project A,” led by Yang Liwei, Vice President of Volcano Engine.

Compared with Volcano Engine’s previous collaboration with SAIC Roewe, its involvement in this project is expected to be substantially deeper.

In recent years, Volcano Engine has gradually opened its Doubao large language model, intelligent cockpit solutions, content ecosystem, and data platform capabilities to the automotive industry.

Neither party has disclosed specific product details so far. However, from Saidou Technology’s renaming and capital restructuring to the impending launch of a new brand, Seres appears to be seeking to move beyond its image as merely an “AITO contract manufacturer” and establish a broader independent brand identity.