(Yicai) Oct. 9 -- Aito, an electric car brand co-developed by Chinese new energy vehicle maker Seres Group and telecoms giant Huawei Technologies, has received more than 50,000 orders for the latest version of its M7 in less than one month since its official launch.

Since Sept. 12, over 50,000 orders have been placed for the new Aito M7, with the figure for Oct. 6 alone reaching 7,000 units, Richard Yu, Huawei's executive director and chairman of the Shenzhen-based firm's smart auto solutions business group, recently announced on social media.

"What a dramatic turnaround!" Yu commented.

Sales of the M7 had been sluggish since the beginning of the year, partly because of the price war in China’s electric vehicle market. The figure fell below 1,000 units in April and even recorded a monthly low of 432 units recently.

In response, Aito launched a new, less expensive version of the M7 sports utility vehicle. Priced between CNY249,800 to CNY329,800 (USD34,198 to USD45,150), CNY40,000 (USD5,480) cheaper than the older model, the new M7 adds a range of cutting-edge technological features, including a light detection and ranging system and Huawei's ADS 2.0, which enables high-level assisted driving without relying on high-definition maps.

Buyers of the M7 can also enjoy a CNY6,000 (USD825) time-limited discount and the preemptive right to buy Huawei's new Mate 60 or Mate X5 series phones.

The M7 will account for more than 30 percent of Aito's total sales this year, Yu said at a press briefing for the SUV launch on Sept. 12, adding that the flagship M9 will be released at the end of the year, taking the brand and its sales to a higher level.

During the National Day holiday, the number of consumers coming to the stores for the new M7 increased significantly, partly because of more visits from Huawei mobile phone users, according to Sun Shaojun, founder of Car Fans, a social media platform for car users and industry advisors. There were also queues for driving tests, Sun said, adding that many stores noticed consumers returned from rivals such as Li Auto.

According to an unconfirmed document circulating online, Seres intends to increase its production capacity of the new M7 after the surge in orders, as it asked suppliers to accelerate the deliveries of parts. One of the carmaker's factories plans to expand its daily output capacity of the new M7 to 750 vehicles by Nov. 1, the document also showed.

Editors: Tang Shihua, Futura Costaglione