The AITO M7, a full-size hybrid crossover SUV made in China by Huawei and Seres, has finally gone on sale. According to CarNewsChina, buyers have left 20,000 pre-orders within four hours, despite the starting price of 319,800 CNY (US$ 50,000).
The car is 5,020 mm long, 1,945 mm wide
and 1,775 mm tall with 2,820 mm between the axles. You will only find a small
handful of hardware buttons inside, replaced by two charging pads on the center
console and dual multimedia displays 10.2 and 15.6 inches large. The
infotainment system has been designed by Huawei and links to the same-brand
audio system consisting of 19 speakers. The interior has three rows of two
seats each. The middle row comes with a wide range of adjustments, ventilation
and massage. Leather trim comes in four available colors.
Huawei ships the AITO M7 with two hybrid
powertrains based on a 1.5-liter turbocharged engine rated at 125 PS and either one or two electric motors. The engine itself operates in
serial/range extender mode, which means it generates more power for the 40-kWh
traction battery and does not rotate the wheels.
The entry spec makes do with 272 PS and 360 Nm of torque. It needs 7.8 seconds to get from
zero to 100 km/h and has 195 km of all-electric range on
the battery alone. Topping up the gas tank results in 1,100 km of
available range.
The top spec adds another electric motor
for 449 PS and 660 Nm of torque. It concludes the
sprint in 4.8 seconds, but takes a range hit due to the second motor. In all-electric
mode, it is good for 165 km of uninterrupted driving. In hybrid, it
gets around 1,000 km.
