The Aito M8 is a new car from a collaboration between Chinese Huawei and Seres that doesn't exist yet. The car doesn't either. But 70,000 have ordered a car.
Over 70,000 drivers have placed pre-orders for the Aito M8 before the car was even launched.
The Aito M8, a product of Huawei's collaboration with Seres, is an SUV with a small gasoline engine that acts as a range extender.
In China, the car will cost somewhere between 368,000 and 458,000 yuan. This corresponds to roughly the same in Danish kroner. Whether Aito will come to Denmark is a completely different question.
Despite the price, the car has garnered significant interest in the Chinese market. Since March 6, Huawei/Seres claims to have filled the order books with 70,000 pre-orders for an Aito M8.
This has happened even though the official launch of the car will not take place until April. In the first hour alone after the order books opened, 7,500 pre-orders were registered. After six hours, the number had increased to 21,000, and after 12 hours, 28,000 pre-orders were recorded.
The Aito M8 is smaller than its sister model, the M9, but it is still classified as a full-size SUV in China.
It has a length of 5,190 meters, a width of 1,999 meters and a height of 1,795 meters with a wheelbase of 3,105 meters. The design of the Aito M8 is streamlined, and the car's side profile has some similarities to the Mercedes-Benz GLS.
The Aito M8 is powered by a 1.5-liter turbo engine that acts as a range extender with an output of 158 horsepower.
The car will be powered primarily by two electric motors with a total output of 525 horsepower. Customers can choose between 36 kWh and 51.9 kWh battery packs, which provide an electric range of 201 kilometers and 310 kilometers, respectively.
With a full tank of gasoline, the Aito M8 can reportedly drive up to 1,526 kilometers.
The car's electrical system is based on an 800-volt architecture, which the Chinese claim can provide 150 kilometers of range in 5 minutes.
But then there's the thing about the name. The M8 will probably have problems in both China and Europe because BMW already has the name. Conversely, the Chinese are known to flout such rights.
BMW already has a lawsuit pending against BYD because, according to the German brand, the Chinese are stealing another model name. Read more about it here .
One thing is a lot of pre-orders, another is how many drivers actually go all the way. Tesla can talk to about that.
Leading up to the launch of the Cybertruck, the American brand had a whopping 2 million pre-orders. So far, so many have dropped out that only a little over 46,000 cars have been produced.
