On September 22, during the CCTV Finance '#Micro Dialogue#' program, Zhang Xinghai, the Chairman of Seres, addressed for the first time the recent rumors surrounding AITO's 'going solo'. He clarified that Seres and Huawei have not parted ways; rather, they have always been and will continue to be partners, with their cooperation model undergoing an upgrade. This upgrade primarily focuses on 'exclusive franchising', a strategy also employed by major luxury brands, aiming for brand and service enhancements. This marks the second time Seres has addressed the future trajectory of AITO.

On September 15, the Harmony Intelligent Mobility Alliance and Seres announced a revamp in the intelligent vehicle cooperation model for the AITO brand. From that day onward, Seres will spearhead product definition, design, brand marketing, channel retail, and service systems for AITO, with Huawei's consumer business providing support. Concurrently, AITO will withdraw from Harmony Intelligent Mobility Alliance stores at the retail level, sparking a significant industry response.

On September 18, Kang Bo, Vice President of Seres, specifically addressed this development. Kang recounted that in 2021, Seres and Huawei jointly launched the AITO brand, pioneering cross-industry collaboration between the automotive and ICT sectors. Over the past five years, without any precedents to follow, Seres and Huawei have co-created an innovative cross-industry business model, diligently building AITO from the ground up to establish it as a high-end brand today, boasting a million users and a robust system foundation. Under these circumstances, it is prudent to consider the next steps for AITO's growth.

Kang elaborated that as sales reach the million-unit milestone, it necessitates higher demands for brand management refinement and differentiation. From a user standpoint, customers of high-end luxury car brands aspire for an exclusive sense of prestige and brand loyalty. Hence, AITO has proposed an 'exclusive franchise' model, which, as Kang explained, 'builds upon the existing collaboration to further revolve around users, focusing on AITO's unique brand positioning, product planning, and service experience. It aims to continually deepen and refine the established high-end brand value, conveying AITO's premium value to users more purely and precisely, instilling a sense of pride.'

Addressing concerns about Huawei's involvement and product quality, Kang underscored that Seres and Huawei remain steadfast in their commitment to collaboratively build high-quality vehicles. AITO remains a pivotal member of the Harmony Intelligent Mobility Alliance family, with Huawei's consumer business continuing to offer support. Technologically, Seres is also a shareholder of Shenzhen Yinwang Company, holding a 10% stake, ensuring AITO's access to Huawei's latest, best, and most practical technologies, products, and supply guarantees. In terms of quality, Kang emphasized that AITO's quality control system was jointly established by Seres and Huawei during their five years of deep collaboration, and this system will continue to evolve and upgrade with the aid of artificial intelligence and other technologies.

Furthermore, Kang also unveiled AITO's subsequent product plans. He stated that Seres' future business emphasis will be on launching high-quality vehicles and effectively managing each product over the long term to garner market recognition and user admiration. Among them, AITO M5, M6, M7, M8, and M9 already cater to different price segments. AITO will persist in enhancing its capability to manage major product lines, striving for a leading market position in their respective segments. Subsequently, Seres will also 'seize opportunities' to venture into the sedan, MPV, and other competitive product markets.

On the evening of September 20, Huawei Yinwang issued a statement regarding its ongoing cooperation with Seres. Huawei Yinwang stated that it has received numerous inquiries about the future collaboration with AITO, as well as concerns from users regarding upgrades and service guarantees, and is hereby responding. Huawei Yinwang unequivocally stated that Seres is its strategic partner and shareholder, and Yinwang will persist in supplying Seres with full-stack intelligent automotive solutions, encompassing Qiankun Intelligent Driving, HarmonyOS Cockpit, Intelligent Vehicle Control, Intelligent In-Vehicle Lighting, and Intelligent Vehicle Cloud, along with matching technical support services. The intelligent iteration and user rights protection of AITO series products will remain unaffected. It emphasized adhering to the strategic positioning of 'electronic screws' to foster the development of the intelligent automotive industry and provide exceptional services to users.

Subsequently, on September 21, Harmony Intelligent Mobility Alliance released a response from Huawei's Executive Director Yu Chengdong to product queries raised by netizens. In Yu's video, AITO made its first appearance amidst the breakup rumors, clearly contradicting previous speculation that Yu would no longer 'endorse' AITO in the future.

As both parties continue to issue statements, previous doubts about a breakup have transformed into speculation about a new model: after AITO matures, will the Harmony Intelligent Mobility Alliance concentrate its efforts on nurturing the other four brands? And after these four brands achieve success, will it gradually allow them to operate independently? For instance, shortly after AITO adopted exclusive franchising, a blogger disclosed that Xiangjie plans to establish its own proprietary network stores, with 60 slated to open by the year's end. This fueled outside speculation that Xiangjie would also become 'independent'. In response, BAIC BluePark dispelled these rumors during an investor relations activity on September 20, stating that BAIC's cooperation positioning and model with Huawei remain unchanged.

'Xiangjie is a high-end luxury brand co-created by BAIC and Huawei. Since the launch of the S9T last year, BAIC's cooperation with Huawei has further evolved into a 'automaker + Huawei tech ecosystem' strategic community, with this positioning and cooperation model remaining steadfast,' BAIC BluePark emphasized. Xiangjie remains a core member of the Harmony Intelligent Mobility Alliance system. In the future, BAIC and Huawei will persist in deepening cooperation around the Xiangjie brand, jointly crafting stylish luxury flagship products.

Regarding the proprietary network stores, BAIC BluePark stated that since the launch of the S9T, Xiangjie has already initiated the construction of a Harmony Intelligent Mobility Alliance Xiangjie proprietary network. 'The Harmony Intelligent Mobility Alliance Xiangjie proprietary network, akin to other channel formats of Harmony Intelligent Mobility Alliance, is integrated into the unified management system of Harmony Intelligent Mobility Alliance, with this model remaining intact,' BAIC BluePark said. According to the objectives disclosed in BAIC BluePark's 2025 annual report, by 2026, the Xiangjie proprietary network aims to operate 40 stores, continually enhancing store density and operational capabilities in first- to third-tier cities.

Compared to joint brand displays, the advantage of a proprietary network lies in its ability to showcase products more comprehensively, with the sales team solely dedicated to the Xiangjie brand, offering a more focused experience from test drives to delivery and after-sales service. As the product portfolio expands, it becomes increasingly imperative for Xiangjie to establish a proprietary network. From this vantage point, it appears that AITO's exclusive franchising is not as speculated by the outside world, and Huawei and Seres have indeed not parted ways.