Chinese automaker Seres announced on Friday that its electric vehicle brand Aito had entered into an agreement with Abu Dhabi-based dealer group Performance Plus Motors to enter the Middle East.
The first and most successful brand under Huawei’s Harmony Intelligent Mobility Alliance, Aito has been expanding its scope into the hyper-competitive market of China. The UAE joint venture will give it its initial export footprint.
In a statement, Seres said Performance Plus Motors, a unit of Abu Dhabi Motors, “will be responsible for the sales, delivery, and after-sales service of Aito’s luxury intelligent models in the UAE.” Eventually, no timeframe was disclosed.
The company reported that the EV brand’s flagship SUV, the Aito 9, has already started test drives in the UAE, and Aito cars have already been delivered to the port of Dubai.
President of Seres’ overseas business unit, Jason Wang, stated the partnership is “an important milestone in Aito’s globalization strategy.”
The announcement highlighted intentions on a wider Middle Eastern footprint to facilitate expansion to the adjacent areas. Aito, which was sold only in China, showed its international range at the Munich car show in September.
However, Chongqing-based Seres began exporting vehicles under its namesake brand in 2023. According to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, 1,615 vehicles with the Seres brand have been exported in total as of November.
Aito sales reached over 420,000 vehicles in 2025, becoming the primary contributor to Seres, whose EV sales increased by 10.6 percent to 472,269 vehicles.
