According to an exclusive report by LatePost Auto on May 30, Seres Group’s subsidiary Landian Technology Co., Ltd. has been renamed “Saidou Technology.” Its largest shareholder has been replaced by Shaci Zhiyuan, controlled by the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of Shapingba District, Chongqing (holding approximately 34.5% of shares). Seres’ stake has dropped to roughly 32.5%, following a waiver of preemptive rights, which also results in it no longer being consolidated into the listed company’s financial statements. The latest capital increase and share expansion agreement amounts to approximately 6.671 billion yuan. New shareholders include CATL, Bojun Technology, and Xingyu Auto Parts. Saidou Technology will serve as the legal entity for Seres’ new automotive brand, which is positioned as young and sporty. The brand is scheduled to be officially launched in June, with sales in both domestic and overseas markets through dedicated sales channels. The market and channel teams have already been assembled. ByteDance’s Volcano Engine is deeply involved in this project, referred to internally at ByteDance as “Project A.” The project lead is Yang Liwei, Vice President of Volcano Engine. On the Seres side, the initiative is being driven by the global business unit of its overseas operations. The collaboration has been in the works for a long time, though details have not yet been finalized. However, sources say Volcano Engine’s involvement in this project will be deeper than its previous “co-definition, co-development” partnership with SAIC Roewe. Media requests for comment from the parties involved had not received a response as of press time.
For Seres, this move is a critical step toward shedding its identity as “a contract manufacturer for AITO” and seeking growth through an independent brand. In the first quarter, Seres’ revenue and sales were heavily dependent on AITO, with net profit growing only 0.89% year-over-year. For Volcano Engine, a new automotive brand tied deeply to itself can serve as a showcase project for its Doubao large language model, smart cockpit solutions, data platform, and ByteDance’s content ecosystem capabilities. Yang Liwei revealed last year that only 30% to 50% of existing automotive customers are experimenting with large language models BG. An in-house incubated brand would offer greater flexibility for technological deployment.