Chongqing - Seres Group announced on the evening of June 11 that its subsidiary, Seres Auto Co., Ltd., intends to purchase a 55% stake in Chongqing Seres Electric Vehicle Co., Ltd. (Seres EV) from Chongqing Qingyunchuangfu Corporation Management Co., Ltd. and Chongqing SinoSin Capital for about 1.254 billion yuan.

On February 6, cutting-edge new energy vehicles rolled off the production line at the Seres Smart Factory in Shapingba District, Chongqing. (Photo/ Zhang Jinhui)

Seres, a prominent electric vehicle company in China, achieved car sales of 94,825 units in the first quarter of 2024. This figure includes 84,065 AITO brand electric vehicles, a result of the company's collaboration with Huawei.

The acquisition price is nearly double the value of the 55% stake in Seres EV. This acquisition fulfills a commitment Seres made to its partners over two years ago. After the transaction is completed, Seres Group will own 100% of Seres EV.

Industry experts believe that fulfilling promises ahead of schedule and voluntarily reducing profits are linked to Seres' significant revenue and net profit growth. Riding the "Huawei Auto" concept, Seres has seen rapid increases in sales and gross profit margins.

Seres' first-quarter 2024 report, released on April 29, revealed a revenue of 26.561 billion yuan, a 421.76% increase year-on-year. The net profit attributable to shareholders was 220 million yuan, a significant turnaround from previous years of consecutive losses: 1.729 billion yuan in 2020, 1.824 billion yuan in 2021, 3.832 billion yuan in 2022, and 2.45 billion yuan in 2023.

The key to turning around the losses was the launch of the AITO series at the end of last year. According to Seres' production and sales data, in the first quarter of 2024, the AITO series accounted for about 88% of Seres' total sales. The company's total vehicle sales increased by 374.77% year-on-year, with AITO series vehicle sales growing by 620.10%, far outpacing the overall sales growth.