Seres (automobiles)

From Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Seres
Company typePrivate
Industry
FoundedJanuary 2016 (2016-01)
FoundersXinghai Zhang
Headquarters
Santa Clara, California
,
United States
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
ParentSeres Group
Websitewww.global-seres.com

SERES is a leading brand in the development of intelligent electric vehicles, with a wide range of products aimed at providing sustainable transportation solutions for everyone. With a focus on continuous innovation, SERES is not only dedicated to enhancing its products but also expanding its global reach.

History[change | change source]

SF Motors[change | change source]

In January 2016, the startup 'SF Motors' was founded in the Californian city of Santa Clara, which was created on the initiative of the Chinese concern Sokon Group. The goal was to develop electric cars with both home markets in mind: United States and China. At the end of 2016, former co-founder of Tesla Motors, Martin Eberhard, joined the company's team.[1] In September 2017, the Chinese government approved the production of electric cars in the country.[2] In the same year, SF Motors also expanded its presence in the United States, establishing cooperation with University of Michigan in the field of autonomous car technology,[3] and acquiring the former AM General plant in Mishawaka as one of the company's two future vehicle manufacturing facilities.[4]

Seres[change | change source]

In March 2018, SF Motors unveiled its first two prototypes previewing the formulation of its future range of production electric cars, SF6 and SF7.[5] A year later, in April 2019, the startup announced that it was changing its name to Seres, while presenting the first production car - the Seres SF5 crossover.[6] In July of the same year, Seres announced the suspension of plans to debut on the American market, as well as the dismissal of 90 employees in United States due to the unsatisfactory financial results of the startup's Chinese branch.[7]

In April 2021, Seres presented the result of cooperation with the Chinese giant of the electronics industry Huawei - a modernized variant of the SF5 model.[8] The partner was responsible for the infotainment and sound system, as well as the new generation hybrid drive. Distribution of the vehicle started in the same month in selected Huawei showrooms in China.[9] Already in 2022, the car completely disappeared from the Chinese market, after changes in styling, it was further sold under the new Aito brand as Aito M5. At the same time, under the new name Seres 5, the vehicle remained in production under the parent brand, from then on being an export product on selected global markets.

Export[change | change source]

The first region outside China where Seres cars went on sale was Europe, however, initially it was done only on the initiative of private, independent companies. In December 2020, the Dutch company Green Mobility Group Europe started official distribution and sales of the Seres brand on the first export market, in Netherlands.[10] The vehicle that created this offer was the brand's second production model - the city electric crossover Seres 3 which is a similar design to the Dongfeng Fengon E3 model offered in China.[11] Shortly after its debut on the Dutch market, the market range of the Seres 3 model was also expanded to include the neighboring German market. In this market, its distribution was handled by the local company INDIMO Automotive GmbH.[12] In September 2021, thanks to the international company Busnex, Seres 3 went on sale also in Poland.[13]

Less than 3 years after the launch of the first Seres for export, in the second half of 2023, the company officially started operating as an authorized distributor of its vehicles, initially in three large regions,[14] when, apart from the previously known "3", the larger "5" and "7" were also presented in a modernized form. In October, Seres began operations in Brazil,[15] in turn, in the meantime, the company also launched distribution in Indonesia, presenting another model there - an electric microcar E1,[16] borrowed from the Chinese range of sister brand Fengon.

Products[change | change source]

Seres[change | change source]

Seres is a brand of electric vehicle owned by Seres Group. Since 2023, Seres brand has shifted to export-focus brand while AITO became a domestic only brand.[17]

AITO[change | change source]

See the main article: AITO (marque)

AITO is a brand Seres Automobile collaborates with Huawei for smart electric vehicle. Huawei is leads in the design of AITO models while Seres conducts in production. It is only operated in Chinese market.

The AITO brand was owned by Seres but was owned by Huawei in June 2023.[20]

Landian[change | change source]

Landian is Seres brand for budget electric vehicles which unveiled in March 2023. The word Landian literally means blue electricity (蓝电) in Chinese.[21]

  • Landian E5
    Landian E5

References[change | change source]

  1. ↑ "Tesla founder launches new electric car battery startup and there's a twist". Retrieved 2020-09-28.
  2. ↑ "SF Motors Establishes Office in Silicon Valley - SF Motors". web.archive.org. 2017-10-23. Archived from the original on 2017-10-23. Retrieved 2024-01-22.
  3. ↑ "Home". Mcity. Retrieved 2024-01-22.
  4. ↑ "AM General Sells Indiana Plant to China-Backed SF Motors". Retrieved 2020-09-28.
  5. ↑ O'Kane, Sean (2018-03-29). "SF Motors is exactly the kind of EV startup Elon Musk complained to Trump about". The Verge. Retrieved 2024-01-22.
  6. ↑ "SF Motors renames itself Seres, launches 684-horsepower electric SUV". Motor Authority. 2019-04-12. Retrieved 2024-01-22.
  7. ↑ "Seres puts electric car launch in the US on hold, lays off a bunch of staff". Retrieved 2020-09-28.
  8. ↑ "Huawei zaczyna sprzedawać samochody, pierwszy w salonach – SUV". Autoblog.pl - blog motoryzacyjny (in Polish). 2021-04-20. Retrieved 2024-01-22.
  9. ↑ "Huawei oficjalnie wchodzi w świat motoryzacji. W Szanghaju zaprezentowano jego model" [Huawei officially enters the automotive world. His model was presented in Shanghai]. Moto.pl (in Polish). 2021-04-22. Retrieved 2024-01-22.
  10. ↑ "Nieuw automerk Seres komt deze maand naar Nederland" (in Dutch). Retrieved 2021-04-27.
  11. ↑ "New EV brand to the Netherlands: SERES". Techzle. 2020-12-03. Retrieved 2024-01-22.
  12. ↑ "Another Brand Of Electric Vehicles Appeared In Germany - Auto Times News". 2020-08-22. Retrieved 2024-01-22.
  13. ↑ "Chińczycy już tu są. SERES 3 debiutuje w Polsce" [The Chinese are already here. SERES 3 debuts in Poland]. Moto.pl (in Polish). 2021-09-07. Retrieved 2024-01-22.
  14. ↑ SERES. "SERES unveils three intelligent new energy vehicles at IAA Mobility 2023". www.prnewswire.com (in Dutch). Retrieved 2024-01-22.
  15. ↑ "SERES Auto introduces SERES 5 electric vehicle to Brazilian market". autonews.gasgoo.com. Retrieved 2024-01-22.
  16. ↑ "Seres E1 masuk pasar Indonesia, harga di bawah Rp200 juta" [Seres E1 enters the Indonesian market, price is under IDR 200 million]. Antara News. Retrieved 2024-01-22.
  17. ↑ "公司业务 - 赛力斯集团". www.seres.cn. Retrieved 2023-12-11.
  18. ↑ "Elektrische Seres 3 is in Nederland en heeft een prijskaartje: €37.995" [Electric Seres 3 is in the Netherlands and has a price tag: € 37,995]. 24 December 2020.
  19. ↑ autotimesnews (2020-12-10). "Another brand of electric vehicles appeared in Germany". Retrieved 2021-01-30.
  20. ↑ "重磅！"问界"商标已转让给华为-开源基础软件社区-51CTO.COM". ost.51cto.com. Retrieved 2023-06-26.
  21. ↑ Kang/CnEVPost, Lei (2023-03-30). "Seres unveils new NEV brand Landian and 1st model E5 with BYD, Huawei technology". CnEVPost. Retrieved 2023-06-28.
  22. ↑ Suzan (2023-06-21). "Dongfeng's All-new Electric SUV FENGON Landian E5 may be launched on March 1 | China Car News, Reviews and More". Retrieved 2023-06-28.
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