Chongqing - Seres recently announced that its AITO series led Chinese electric vehicle (EV) sales for "new automakers" in the first month of 2024, delivering 32,973 vehicles and surpassing rivals Li Auto, Deepal, Nio, and Xpeng.

Seres kicked off the new year on a high note, with January's robust sales aligning with the company's forecasts of increased profitability, driven by the successful introduction of popular new models and a growth trend from the previous year's fourth quarter.

Seres' new AITO M7 series became the key product for the company to turn the future. (Photo/Seres)

Two weeks ago, Seres Group Co., Ltd. announced its annual performance forecast for 2023, predicting a revenue of 35.5 billion yuan (USD 4.93 billion) to 36.5 billion yuan, an increase of 4.09% to 7.02% year-on-year. Regarding net profit, Seres expects a net loss attributable to the parent company of 2.1 billion to 2.7 billion yuan for 2023, representing a reduction in losses of 29.54%-45.2% compared to the net loss of 3.83 billion yuan in 2022.

Data shows that the new AITO series has significantly boosted Seres' sales in the fourth quarter. In December 2023, the company sold 31,490 vehicles, marking a historical high, with monthly sales surpassing 30,000 for the first time. 

Among them, the AITO series delivered 24,468 new vehicles, with over 80% belonging to the new M7 model. Meanwhile, the M9 model received over 30,000 bookings in the first seven days after its launch on December 26.

Seres revealed that its revenue for the first three quarters amounted to 16.68 billion yuan, which was eclipsed by its fourth-quarter earnings, projected between 18.82 billion and 19.82 billion yuan. Compared to the same period in 2022, Seres' fourth-quarter revenue in 2023 increased by 71.37% to 80.48%.

Seres attributed the 2023 performance loss primarily to high R&D investment in high-end intelligent electric vehicle core technologies and products and high fixed costs and marketing promotions in the first three quarters. The company also added that its profitability would improve with new models entering the market.

The capital market showed confidence in Seres' financial outlook. Following the announcement of its preliminary losses, Seres' stock price experienced a 0.11% increase on the announcement day, followed by a 4.8% rise at the close of the next day.

Seres, a company specializing in engine and new energy vehicle production, primarily operates in the automobile manufacturing sector. In 2021, Seres embarked on an extensive cross-industry partnership with Huawei, creating the intelligent electric vehicle brand AITO. The collaboration has successfully launched models such as the AITO M5, M7, and M9.