Why doesn't Seres regret paying a hefty tuition fee of 75 billion yuan to Huawei?

Over the past three years, SERES has paid a hefty "tuition fee" of 75 billion yuan to Huawei without any regrets.

According to SERES' own disclosure, between 2022, 2023, and 2024, SERES paid 75 billion yuan in procurement fees to its largest supplier. And who is this largest supplier? No need to guess. There is no other than Huawei. If we include the procurement fees in 2025, SERES has paid over 100 billion yuan to Huawei in total. In the first half of 2025 alone, SERES paid 20 billion yuan in procurement fees to Huawei.

Some media outlets have calculated that, on average, for every AITO vehicle sold by SERES, Huawei takes about 140,000 yuan. Why can Huawei get so much? Mainly because Huawei is a full - solution provider integrating software and hardware.

For example, the three most core components of electric vehicles, the electric drive and control system, the Hongmeng cockpit system, and the intelligent assisted driving system, are all supplied by Huawei. What about other components? Lidar, HUD head - up display system, in - car audio, intelligent headlights, computing chips, in - vehicle chips, and cloud services, etc., are all from Huawei. This whole set of systems is not cheap.

The most prominent features of Huawei in the electric vehicle field are high - end technology and high prices. These are just the tangible supply lists, and the intangible value is even greater. For example, the AITO brand has become the best - selling luxury brand in China, suppressing the German BBA brands in reverse. Second - tier luxury brands such as Lexus, Volvo, and Cadillac have been left far behind by AITO.

On its own, SERES could never have built such a high - end brand. And this high - end positioning is not entirely because of Huawei's strong technology. Behind the scenes, Huawei has exported a complete set of management systems to SERES.

Why are AITO vehicles selling better and better? Huawei builds the brand at the front - end and exports technology at the back - end. More importantly, Huawei has taught SERES step by step how to manufacture a high - end luxury electric vehicle! SERES itself has no experience in manufacturing luxury cars. It used to manufacture minivans. It is with the support of Huawei's standards and systems that SERES has learned to manufacture high - end electric vehicles.

It seems that SERES has paid a huge "tuition fee" to Huawei. However, Huawei has transformed SERES from a small factory on the verge of bankruptcy into the best - selling luxury car brand in China. Among them, the average price of the AITO M9 exceeds 500,000 yuan, and the highest monthly sales volume has exceeded 16,000 units. This is definitely a miracle in the history of China's automotive industry. Moreover, SERES has become the largest private enterprise in Chongqing!

The success of SERES cannot be judged solely by the huge "tuition fee" it has paid. We also need to see what it has gained. In terms of profit, SERES is not at a loss. Although the procurement fees are indeed high, SERES' profits are also quite high. In 2024, SERES achieved a net profit of 5.946 billion yuan. In the first three quarters of 2025, SERES' net profit exceeded 5.3 billion yuan, and it is expected to earn 8.3 to 10 billion yuan for the whole year.

It should be noted that SERES has additionally paid 11.5 billion yuan to acquire a 10% stake in YLW Tech. This not only deeply ties it to Huawei's intelligent driving technology but also entitles it to a 10% dividend from YLW. It is very difficult to obtain a stake in YLW Tech. Besides SERES, only Chery, Changan, and BAIC can get the same treatment. Considering the launch of Shangjie, SAIC will probably also invest in YLW.

For SERES, it was once an insignificant player. But now? It is on par with Chery, Changan, SAIC, and BAIC. Among them, SERES is the best - selling one! Could you have imagined this three years ago? Even Zhang Xinghai couldn't have imagined it.

It can be said that SERES' big bet on Huawei has achieved far - exceeding - expected success so far. Even if in the future, other brands gradually divert AITO's customer base, SERES has achieved phased success in its new - energy transformation. Otherwise, like Dongfeng Xiaokang, SERES would have been eliminated by the times long ago!

To determine whether a "tuition fee" is worth it, we should not only look at the price but also at the results!

This article is from the WeChat official account "Shengchan Dui", author: Shengchan Dui Zhang. It is published by 36Kr with authorization.