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Seres (formerly SF Motors)[1] is a brand of electric vehicle marketed by Seres Group (formerly Chongqing Sokon Industry Group[2][3]). Several of their subsidiaries are also named "Seres".
Seres Automobile Co., Ltd. (Chinese: 赛力斯汽车有限公司) (formerly Chongqing Jinkang New Energy Automobile Co., Ltd.[4])[5] is an R&D and manufacturing subsidiary based in China.[5]
A US subsidiary, SF Motors Inc.,[5] sometimes called Seres,[5]: 17 [6] headquartered in Santa Clara, California, represents Jinkang New Energy Automobile's business in US.[6] SF Motors Inc. has established several R&D facilities and is in the process of designing and producing a U.S.-based, electric vehicle line. The company has delayed launching a US product and laid off hundreds of workers, including 90 people at its design studio.[7][8] The company is partnering with a number of automotive and tech suppliers.[9]
In April 2021, Seres launched an updated SF5, starting a partnership with Huawei, which partook in the development of the vehicle, and sells the cars through Huawei stores.[10][11] According to sources cited by Reuters, Huawei was looking to take over Seres from its parent company Chongqing Sokon, but Huawei denied having plans for such an acquisition.[12]
In March 2023, the Aito brand was rebranded as Huawei Aito for a short time[13] before Huawei issued that all promotional materials related to Huawei will be removed on April 1 from Aito stores.[14]
SF Motors Inc. was founded in Santa Clara, California in January 2016 as a company focused on producing electric vehicles. In early 2017, SF Motors’ parent company, Sokon Industry Group, was granted production permits from the Chinese government to produce electric vehicles.[15]
The company has established[when?] seven R&D facilities in four countries, including the U.S., China, and Germany, with Japan coming online soon. Along with establishing an R&D center in the Ann Arbor area in Michigan; Seres is also partnering with the University of Michigan's Mcity innovation center, which is dedicated to leading the transformation to connected and automated vehicles.[16] SF Motors hosted its first University of Michigan-Sokon Autonomous Driving Seminar in August 2017.
In 2017, SF Motors completed the acquisition of the AM General Commercial Assembly Plant in Mishawaka, Indiana, making it the only electric vehicle company at the time to have manufacturing facilities in both the U.S. and China.[17] It will be the first manufacturing plant in the U.S. that is wholly owned by SF Motors. The acquisition includes retaining about 430 employees at the facility who previously helped build vehicles for both Mercedes-Benz and Hummer.[17]
January 28, 2016 — SF Motors was founded in Silicon Valley, California
September 2016 — Tesla co-founder Martin Eberhard joined SF Motors as Strategic Advisor
January 2017 — Parent company of SF Motors (Sokon Industry Group) granted production permit from Chinese Government to produce electric vehicles
March 2017 — SF Motors opens headquarters in Silicon Valley. The building has a garage with EV charging stations
April 2017 — Parent company of SF Motors, Sokon Motors, and University of Michigan announce plans to establish Michigan-Sokon Research Center
June 2017 — SF Motors announces plans to acquire commercial automotive assembly plant in Mishawaka, Indiana from AM General where Hummer H2 SUVs were formerly built.[18]
July 2017 — SF Motors hosts first Global Partnership Meeting at its headquarters in Silicon Valley
July 2017 — SF Motors establishes intelligent driving research center in Beijing
August 2017 — SF Motors hosts first University of Michigan-Sokon Autonomous Driving Seminar
September 2017 — SF Motors’ parent company granted permission by Chinese Government to issue convertible bond worth up to 1.5 Billion RMB for SF Motors
October 2017 — SF Motors announced the acquisition of InEVit Inc., an electric vehicle battery modularization startup headed by Martin Eberhard, industry leader and co-founder of Tesla, who joined the company as Chief Scientist and Vice Chairman of SF Motors’ Board.[19]
March 2018 — SF Motors unveils its cars, two all-electric sport utility vehicles, the compact SF5 and the mid-size SF7.[20]
July 2019 — Plans to assemble the company's first vehicle, an SUV called the SF5, have been halted for the U.S. market. Plans to assemble and sell SF5 in China continue unchanged. Layoffs have been announced at the company's California headquarters.[21]
That same month, Autocar reported that the company was in search of British partners to manufacture electric vehicles for SF Motors. SF Motors will serve as a supplier and would provide electric motors, and battery packs to any potential partners.[22]
Seres is a brand of electric vehicle marketed by Seres Group. Since 2023, Seres brand has shifted to export-focus brand while AITO became a domestic only brand.[23]
AITO is a brand Seres Automobile collaborates with Huawei for smart electric vehicle. Huawei is leads in the design of AITO models while Seres conducts in production. It is only operated in Chinese market.
The AITO brand was owned by Seres but was sold to Huawei in June 2023.[26]
Landian is Seres' brand for budget electric vehicles which was unveiled in March 2023. The word Landian literally means blue electricity (蓝电) in Chinese.[27]
