In Depth: Huawei’s EV Partnership Yields Unexpected Hit

A new electric car co-developed by Huawei Technology Co. Ltd. and automaker Seres Group Co. Ltd. has received over 60,000 orders within a month after the launch of the Aito M7 SUV on Sept. 12. With demand exceeding the two partners’ expectations, Huawei has committed 1 billion yuan ($136.5 million) of additional investment to guarantee the delivery.

Richard Yu, chairman of Huawei’s smart car unit, called the triumph a “rise from the dead” in a social media post Oct. 6. Inside Huawei, the M7 is viewed as another Mate 7, the flagship smartphone launched in 2014 that reversed the telecom equipment giant’s reputation as a budget phone maker and helped to save Yu’s job as the head of Huawei’s consumer business group.