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Aito, the Chinese electric vehicle (EV) maker backed by telecommunications equipment maker Huawei Technologies, is offering compensation to buyers of its M7 sport-utility vehicle (SUV) after the revamped model hit the bullseye with consumers, resulting in delivery delays.
The EV brand, jointly launched by Huawei and carmaker Seres in late 2021, said on Tuesday that every buyer will be awarded 200 yuan (US$27.35) for each day of delay, up to a maximum of 10,000 yuan.
"We have stepped up production [of M7 vehicles]," Aito said in a statement on its app. "We will try our best to hand the vehicles to you with quality ensured."
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The strong demand for the new model - Aito has received more than 60,000 orders in the month since the M7 hit the market - ratchets up the pressure on US-based Tesla, which has long led the sizzling mainland EV market, and its Chinese rivals such as Li Auto, Xpeng and Nio. Beijing-headquartered Li Auto recently broke its monthly sales record for the sixth straight time this year, and Chinese EV makers overall appear to be on track to smash a 2023 sales target of 8.5 million electric cars.
The M7 uses an infotainment system driven by Huawei's HarmonyOS. Photo: Simon Song alt=The M7 uses an infotainment system driven by Huawei's HarmonyOS. Photo: Simon Song>
For Aito buyers who ordered an M7 on or before October 16, the current waiting time is four weeks for the Plus version and six weeks for the Max version, Aito said.
At present, Aito is able to produce about 10,000 vehicles a month, and it will have to add shifts to execute all the orders quickly, according to Phate Zhang, founder of Shanghai-based EV data provider CnEVPost.
"The compensation for a potentially prolonged delivery was a pleasant surprise to Aito because it had not been prepared for strong sales of the new M7," said Tian Maowei, a sales manager at Yiyou Auto Service in Shanghai. "But in this cutthroat market, if a company is not able to deliver new cars promptly, it will soon lose its market share because customers are lured away by other brands."
The premium EV builders are likely to offer discounts soon to attract new customers as they strive to maintain their market share, Tian said.
The revamped M7 starts at 249,800 yuan, lower than the previous model launched in July 2022 by 40,000 yuan, or 13.8 per cent. The SUV's driving range is 1,300 kilometres.