Charging into the high - end family car market, the Wenjie M8 is "fully loaded".
Without even seeing the real car or having a test drive, users placed 32,000 large - order reservations for the AITO M8 on its launch day.
What is a large - order reservation? It is an order with contractual validity that can be scheduled for production and delivery on the assembly line. Some automakers usually take dozens of days or even a month to get 32,000 large - order reservations, but the AITO M8 achieved this in just 24 hours. Moreover, as more users visit the stores to view the car and take test drives, the number of orders for the AITO M8 will undoubtedly soar.
After the AITO M9 set the benchmark for luxury flagship new energy vehicles in China, HarmonyOS Smart Mobility sent another surprise weapon in the family flagship market, the AITO M8. This is a family - oriented smart flagship SUV priced from 359,800 to 449,800 yuan, offering 6 - seat and 5 - seat versions for users to choose from. It is equipped with a new - generation extended - range system. With a ternary lithium battery, it has a CLTC pure - electric range of 310 kilometers and a comprehensive range of 1,526 kilometers.
High - end family cars have always been a niche category with huge demand but scarce supply due to their rigid demand and comprehensive functionality. It has also become a market that many automakers are vying for. HarmonyOS Smart Mobility always makes effective moves, and the AITO M8 is fully prepared this time.
The AITO M8 integrates the luxury and cutting - edge technology design of HarmonyOS Smart Mobility. The vehicle has a strong and imposing stance, inheriting the family - style intelligent technology essence. It also offers a large interior space and sufficient safety configurations.
With a body length of nearly 5.2 meters, this car provides an interior space of over 3.5 meters.
The AITO M8 is also equipped with a new - generation intelligent extended - range system, a 53.4 - kWh ternary lithium battery pack, and 21 - inch low - drag wheels. It has a CLTC pure - electric range of 310 kilometers, almost approaching that of a small pure - electric vehicle. With a full tank of fuel and a fully charged battery, its comprehensive range is as high as 1,526 kilometers, enabling long - distance travel with a single refueling and charging.
In terms of intelligence, needless to say, it is equipped with the HUAWEI ADS 3.3 intelligent driving system, which achieves full - scenario coverage from parking space to parking space.
In terms of safety, the AITO M8 has been comprehensively designed from active safety to passive safety, directly addressing the long - standing blind spots in family cars.
It can be said that whether from the perspective of a domestic luxury new energy vehicle or a high - end family flagship car, the AITO M8 is almost a flawless product.
It is destined to make great achievements in the high - end family car market and will lead domestic luxury new energy vehicles to create a stir in the 2025 auto market.
Targeting the family flagship market, the AITO M8 disrupts the market upon launch
In the luxury car market, HarmonyOS Smart Mobility's sales of over 400,000 vehicles in 2024 have helped Huawei establish a solid position in the field of technological luxury. This includes the brand's appeal, R & D capabilities in intelligent technology, and the product definition, marketing, and quality control capabilities refined through Huawei's terminal system.
These are all profound reserves and supports for the overnight success of the AITO M8.
According to industry data, the annual sales of passenger cars priced over 400,000 yuan are less than one million. The AITO M8 has already received 150,000 small - order reservations. Judging from the conversion of 32,000 large - order reservations in 24 hours, the AITO M8 has grabbed a large share of the market right from the start.
Relying on the existing luxury system capabilities of HarmonyOS Smart Mobility, the AITO M8 is finely crafted for high - end family car users, standing on the "shoulders of giants".
As we all know, China is a country with a population of 1.4 billion, and the family is the basic economic unit. Therefore, family consumption has always been one of the main market segments for the automotive industry. In the past few years, automakers targeting this market among new car - making companies have all established a solid foundation.
However, the challenges in this consumer market are also obvious. With more family members, there is a need for a large and equal - rights space, meaning that every passenger needs to be taken care of. At the same time, requirements for economy, driving comfort, and vehicle stability mean that the extended - range system needs to have the best possible pure - electric range. In addition, it also needs to inherit the convenience of home, such as having a refrigerator, sofa, and TV.
It is well - known that in the field of industrial manufacturing, there is always an impossible triangle of performance, cost, and quality.
It is quite rare for a product to achieve the above - mentioned capabilities because it often reaches the limit in terms of cost and profit.
Moreover, it is almost impossible to find a product on the market that can provide the active and passive safety capabilities that family car buyers care about but are often ignored by automakers, especially within the limit of cost.
The AITO M8 is exactly such a product, which comprehensively meets consumers' needs from the top - level design.
Fully loaded, the all - around champion
As a family - oriented vehicle, the primary task is to have a large space. This is not a challenge for the AITO M8, which has a body length of nearly 5.2 meters and a wheelbase of over 3.1 meters.
From the actual vehicle, the AITO M8 adopts a flat - floor design, with an effective interior space of 3,510 mm. It is reported that the space utilization rate is as high as 67.6%. The whole vehicle is equipped with multiple storage spaces. The second - row seats of the six - seat version also come standard with dual hidden slide rails, making it more convenient and safe for the elderly and children to get in and out.
In addition to space, the new - generation extended - range platform of the AITO M8 directly addresses several major pain points in the industry and leads the industry in 2025.
In the past, due to battery cost and battery technology limitations, the pure - electric range of extended - range vehicles often hovered around 200 kilometers. With a 20% power reserve, the available range was further reduced. The desire for the comfort and economy of electric vehicles but the need to spend a lot of time on frequent charging has become the biggest headache for extended - range vehicle owners.
The AITO M8 has redesigned the extended - range system, increasing the battery pack capacity to 53.4 kWh and matching it with 21 - inch low - drag wheels, achieving a CLTC pure - electric range of 310 km.
Moreover, the AITO M8 fully implements the concept of economy for family cars. It is equipped with a new - generation extended - range system with a mass - produced thermal efficiency of 44.8%. Even in the case of low battery, the fuel consumption is reduced to 6.6 L/100 km.
Extended - range vehicle owners who use electricity in the city and are reluctant to use fuel on long - distance trips can also eliminate their concerns about energy consumption.
In terms of safety and quality assurance, which are often ignored in family cars and the noisy industry competition, the AITO M8 has also been comprehensively designed.
First is the typical "Huawei - style" safety: multiple redundancies.
While the industry is struggling with price - war pressure and reducing costs by using fewer sensors or even removing lidars, HarmonyOS Smart Mobility's strategy is the opposite, that is, to increase sensing redundancy and build an active safety system.
The AITO M8 is equipped with an all - directional three - dimensional fusion sensing system, integrating 1 192 - line roof - mounted lidar, 1 rear - facing solid - state lidar, and 5 4D millimeter - wave radars (including 3 front - distributed 4D millimeter - wave radars).
By horizontal comparison, it is not difficult to find that models using one lidar in the industry are already considered luxury configurations. On the AITO M8, not only are 2 lidars integrated, but also 5 4D millimeter - wave radars are equipped, far exceeding the industry average configuration level.
With this hardware support, the HUAWEI ADS 3.3 intelligent driving system can achieve full - scenario coverage from parking space to parking space.
Also thanks to the hardware support, in terms of active safety, the AITO M8 is equipped with an all - directional anti - collision 3.0 system to handle all - around risks, and can even identify risks such as suspended light boxes and dug - out ditches behind the vehicle.
The redundant safety concept runs through the whole vehicle. Taking the widely - concerned door lock opening after a collision as an example, the AITO M8 also has a targeted design. It uses multiple power supplies. The main small power supply is placed in the rear cabin to avoid being damaged in a collision and causing the door lock to malfunction. At the same time, a redundant power supply is also configured on the door, so that the door can still be unlocked even if the small power supply is damaged.
In terms of passive safety, the AITO M8 adopts a hardcore body structure. For example, aluminum alloy + high - strength steel + hot - formed steel accounts for 81%. There are 12 parts of 2000 MPa submarine - grade steel in the whole vehicle, and it comes standard with 9 airbags + active seat belts + a five - layer battery safety coating design.
In terms of manufacturing, He Liyang, the president of SERES, said that an independent welding production line has been established for the AITO M8, and a 10,000 - ton integrated die - casting technology has been introduced.
It is worth mentioning that the AITO M8 also has a water - wading slow - driving mode, with an emergency water - wading capacity of 700 mm. That is to say, the safety design of the AITO M8 has been extended from the product itself to the travel scenario.
At the same time, the AITO M8 also adopts a design to prevent accidental water splashing in the cabin to prevent electronic components from malfunctioning due to accidental water splashing by "naughty kids".
Overall, if HarmonyOS Smart Mobility has built capabilities in the three elements of luxury cars "brand, design, and materials", the AITO M8 has made all - around efforts in terms of family use, intelligence, and safety on this basis.
This will undoubtedly help HarmonyOS Smart Mobility open up a new world in the luxury car market and launch a more fierce attack on the traditional luxury car market.
Seize the opportunity to pursue victory, HarmonyOS Smart Mobility targets the luxury car market
Years of intense competition have made all the industrial chains of China's intelligent electric vehicles highly mature. Taking the most core power battery as an example, the cost has dropped below 0.3 yuan per watt - hour, making the cost of the battery pack quickly approach that of the power system of fuel - powered vehicles. This is also the reason why electric vehicles have been rapidly popularized in the industry, with the penetration rate exceeding 50%.
The same is true for intelligence. The cost of a domain controller for high - speed navigation driving NCA has dropped below 5,000 yuan. At the beginning of 2025, the industry has witnessed a "war for the popularization of intelligent driving". Preliminary statistics show that by the end of this year, the number of automotive products equipped with so - called high - speed NCA or higher capabilities will approach ten million, and the penetration rate will also exceed 50% in just over a year.
The maturity of the industrial chain brought about by intense competition has also enabled intelligent electric vehicle products to quickly enter ordinary families. You can even buy an intelligent electric vehicle product for less than 100,000 yuan.
However, it is an undeniable fact that in the chaotic market with extremely low prices, it is difficult to balance the safety and reliability that consumers value most in automotive products.
Many car - making companies, although targeting the high - end market, have seen their average prices drop continuously under the cruel market price competition. Some even rely on low - priced models to increase sales volume and maintain large - scale operations.
That is to say, although new energy vehicle players are emerging in large numbers, there are still many obstacles on the path of Chinese brands moving upmarket. There is an urgent need for a powerful leader to bravely go against the trend and break through.
HarmonyOS Smart Mobility is almost such a "chosen one". It relies on Huawei's scientific and technological strength, brand appeal, product definition, marketing, and channel capabilities refined through years of consumer terminal business, as well as Huawei's supply chain and strict quality control capabilities.
Nurtured by such systematic capabilities, the flagship model AITO M9 of HarmonyOS Smart Mobility has delivered 180,000 vehicles in just 13 months since its launch, becoming the well - deserved champion model priced over 500,000 yuan. Thus, the luxury positioning of HarmonyOS Smart Mobility has been firmly established.
The AITO M8 is a follow - up product to pursue victory. As Yu Chengdong said, the AITO M9 is already the sales champion among vehicles priced over 500,000 yuan, and the AITO M8 will create a miracle among vehicles priced over 400,000 yuan.
In terms of the product, the AITO M8 has been comprehensively designed around the positioning of a family smart flagship. It has solved pain points and strengthened its advantages.
It is foreseeable that the launch of the AITO M8 will not only help HarmonyOS Smart Mobility itself enrich its product portfolio and expand the luxury car market but also help the industry improve the product capabilities of family cars. For example, it will drive the upgrade of the extended - range system industrial chain and promote the faster popularization of new energy vehicles.
More importantly, the AITO M8 will also raise the industry's awareness of bottom - line competition in terms of safety and quality in the current chaotic auto market.
This will be extremely valuable on the eve of China's auto industry's ambitious march into the global market.
This article is from the WeChat official account "36Kr". 36Kr published it with authorization.