Aito is the latest Chinese car brand to announce that it’s going to be entering the European market, adding to a packed lineup of new cars that are tempting buyers away from the established manufacturers. 

What is Aito? 

In the grand tradition of coming up with names that are hard to say, the new brand is actually called Aito Auto, and it’s a sub-brand of Chinese carmaker Seres Auto that’s been started in conjunction with fellow Chinese tech firm Huawei. 

It was officially launched in its home market in 2021, and Seres provides the hardware while Huawei provides the operating system the cars run on as well as the autonomous driving tech the cars are able to run on in China. 

When is Aito launching in Europe?

The brand announced its broad plans for Europe at the recent Paris motor show, with company bosses saying that they were planning to launch the cars on the market in 2027. 

Don’t get too excited for the beginning of the year, though, they’ve specifically said autumn 2027, so it’ll be a little while before you see Aito’s autos on the road. 

Currently the company is focusing on getting its cars approved for sale in Europe and is also aiming for five-star Euro NCAP tests. 

On top of that, Aito engineers are testing cars on European roads with a view to tweaking them to suit local tastes. 

Parent company Seres has its European headquarters in Amsterdam and a research hub in Karlsruhe in west Germany. 

What Aito models will go on sale in Europe?

Aito has four models pencilled in for its European launch – the 6, 7, 8 and 9. The Aito 6 (above) is a mid-sized family SUV with a Porsche Taycan-style front end that comes in EV or range extender guises. 

The Aito 7 (below) is a larger family SUV with more of a Volkswagen style to its front lights that also comes in electric or plug-in hybrid flavours, while the Aito 8 is bigger and more upright with up to six seats. 

The flagship Aito 9 (top of the page) is a ginormous luxury SUV in the same vein as the plush Mercedes-Maybach EQS SUV, which has the same mix of powertrains but the EV version comes with a 120kWh battery. 

The whole Aito range is either newly launched or refreshed in the last 12 months, demonstrating the pace of development among Chinese carmakers. 

When will Aito launch in the UK?

So Aito hasn’t specified which European markets it plans to enter, but it would make sense to sell its wares in the UK for the simple reason that it’s the second largest market in the region after Germany and one of the few that doesn’t currently impose tariffs on Chinese cars.