AITO M5 Is Huawei's Second Attempt At Building A Car

In April last year, Huawei and Chinese automaker Seres unveiled a new crossover that effectively became the first car sold by Huawei. The SF5 was not developed from scratch by the tech company, though it had a big input in many aspects. This model didn’t turn out to be a sales success for the two firms, however, and just several months later they took a different approach. The SF5 morphed into a more luxurious crossover and was launched under the new AITO brand.

The AITO M5 was officially unveiled in December last year, and while it still keeps the DNA of the SF5, it offers a more comfortable interior, an improved design, and seriously upgraded technologies. Our friends and colleagues at Wheelsboy车轮哥 were among the first to review the new crossover and they were happy to share their video and exclusive photo gallery with Motor1.com’s audience.

Gallery: AITO M5








But what was Huawei’s involvement in this vehicle? Well, for starters, it basically provided the electric motors for the hybrid powertrain. The M5 uses a 1.5-liter turbocharged gas engine which works as a generator and never actually powers the wheels. Depending on the specification, the output of the system is 272 horsepower (203 kilowatts), 428 hp (319 kW), or 496 hp (370 kW). Huawei also worked on the in-car electronics and delivered its infotainment system, for which the reviewer in this video claims is one of the best in the industry.

The flagship model, the one featured in the video, has a relatively large 40 kWh battery pack, which should be enough for about 93 miles (150 kilometers) оf range if we are to believe the WLTP-certified numbers. The most powerful version can sprint from a standstill to 62 miles per hour (0-100 kilometers per hour) in just 4.4 seconds. Once the battery runs out of juice, the combustion engine should provide another 560 miles (900 km) of mixed ICE-EV range.

One of the quirky features this car has — many new Chinese cars have plenty of them, by the way — is a system that simulates different engine and exhaust sounds. The most interesting part here is that it also generates fake sounds simulating gear shifts from the transmission.

Source: Wheelsboy on YouTube

Source: Read Full Article