(Yicai) June 3 -- Aito, an electric car collaboration between China's Huawei Technologies and carmaker Seres Group, has debuted a new model to achieve its goal of selling 500,000 units a year amid increasingly fierce competition.

The M7 Ultra has upgraded chassis suspension, cabin interior, and seats and Huawei's ADS 2.0, which enables high-level assisted driving without relying on high-definition maps, the Shenzhen-based firm announced on May 31. It is priced from CNY289,800 to CNY329,800 (USD40,015 to USD45,540), the same as the revamped M7 launched last September. 

Aito received 60,000 orders for the M7 within 31 days after its debut, reversing sluggish sales over the past two years. It sold nearly 70,000 M7s in the first quarter of this year, but sales fell to less than 10,000 units in April from 30,000 units in January.

Aito aims to deliver 20,000 M7 Ultras this month, noted He Liyang, president of Seres.

Fewer buyers got the M7 after one of Aito's rivals Li Auto slashed prices around the Chinese New Year in February and later launched its new L6 at a low price, Yicai learned. Aito consumers have also taken a wait-and-see approach after Huawei released information about new models in advance.

Huawei plans to release the Aito M8 and its first Luxeed sport utility vehicle in the second half of this year.

Aito's sales will exceed 40,000 units this month, said Richard Yu, chairman of Huawei's smart car solutions business, while disclosing information about the Stelato S9, a model between Huawei and BAIC Group, and a luxury electric vehicle with Jianghuai Automobile Group.

The Stelato S9, priced from CNY450,000 to CNY550,000, will be the first vehicle equipped with Huawei's ADS 3.0 and will be launched in the middle of August. The luxury EV model with Jianghuai Auto will be released in the spring of next year.

Editor: Martin Kadiev