SaiDou is Here: Aiming to Leverage "Doubao" to Crack the 100,000-200,000 Yuan Market?

Gasgoo Munich-Collaboration between SERES and ByteDance's Volcano Engine is accelerating from the drawing board to reality. A new automotive brand is emerging: "SaiDou." Its operating entity, Chongqing SaiDou Technology Co., Ltd., has completed business registration changes, with registered capital rising from 320 million yuan to 971 million yuan.

According to sources familiar with the matter, the "SaiDou" brand will officially launch in Beijing on June 9, 2026. This move serves a dual purpose: it allows SERES to shed and revitalize underperforming assets, while giving the Huawei-backed OEM a fresh foothold in the 100,000 to 200,000 yuan mainstream market.

6.67 Billion Yuan Restructuring: From Landian to SaiDou

SERES' move to divest underperforming assets was hardly impulsive. In February, the automaker announced a cooperation agreement with the Chongqing Shapingba District Government. The plan involved spinning off existing Landian assets into a new target company, which would then receive cash injections from a fund established by the local government and other investors.

Image Source: Qichacha

On May 25, SERES announced that Chongqing Landian Technology Co. had completed a capital expansion of roughly 6.67 billion yuan, bringing in five investors including Shaci Zhiyuan and CATL. Shaci Zhiyuan, a local state-owned asset manager, invested 3.43 billion yuan to secure a 34.5% stake, becoming the largest shareholder. SERES, with a 32.96% stake, slipped to second place. This shift in ownership means SaiDou Technology will no longer be consolidated into SERES' financial statements, effectively spinning off assets that have been incurring losses.

The strain on Landian's operations is evident in the sales figures. Data shows sales of the Landian E5 reached just 8,756 units in 2023. Sales rose to 29,000 units in 2024, bolstered by the launch of the E5 PLUS, but fell back to 20,000 units in 2025.

Landian Auto is in urgent need of a breakthrough. According to insiders, bringing in partners specializing in artificial intelligence and energy aims to help SaiDou Technology pivot in the mass-market NEV sector while revitalizing its assets.

Image Source: SERES Group

The partnership with Volcano Engine adds another dimension to this restructuring. On October 9, 2025, SERES' subsidiary, Chongqing Phoenix Technology, signed a framework agreement with Volcano Engine focused on embodied intelligence. The agreement outlines collaboration on "multi-modal cloud-edge collaborative intelligent robot decision-making, control, and human enhancement technologies" to create a new model integrating technology with real-world scenarios.

Under this arrangement, Volcano Engine will leverage its technical strengths in language, vision, multi-modal, and general AI models. It will provide intelligent algorithms and computing power for the new brand, embedding artificial intelligence directly into its vehicles.

Notably, SERES emphasized that this is a framework agreement involving no specific financial commitments; concrete projects will require separate contracts.

Without Huawei's Autonomous Driving, SaiDou Bets on "Doubao" for a Turnaround

Product disclosures suggest SaiDou's first model will arrive this year. Likely a crossover combining SUV and sedan features, it will offer both pure electric and extended-range powertrain options and be produced at SERES' Phoenix plant. Targeting a younger, sportier demographic in the 100,000 to 200,000 yuan bracket, the brand will establish independent sales channels for both domestic and overseas markets.

Image Source: Doubao

Multiple sources indicate SaiDou will not adopt Huawei's Qiankun ADS system for autonomous driving. Industry observers also interpret the brand's name, "SaiDou," as a direct reference to Volcano Engine's Doubao large language model. Previous reports suggest the two parties are collaborating to integrate the Doubao model into the vehicle's infotainment system, a project currently in the research and development phase.

The framework agreement suggests room for broader expansion. Beyond the current integration of the Doubao model, the partnership could extend to deep applications of embodied intelligence across the automotive supply chain, signaling a sustained and scalable collaboration.

The collaboration between SERES and Volcano Engine on SaiDou vehicles will focus primarily on the smart cockpit, aiming to create a differentiated AI interaction experience. Yet, as autonomous driving capabilities increasingly influence purchase decisions, it remains to be seen whether a product strategy defined by a "strong smart cockpit" will resonate with the market.

Additionally, according to the Shapingba District government, SaiDou Technology will concentrate on intelligent connected new energy passenger vehicles, building a competitive edge to help accelerate the region's goal of a 100-billion-yuan NEV industrial cluster. SERES, for its part, stated that the move aims to optimize its asset structure, align with strategic development goals, and support long-term growth.

Image Source: Landian Auto

For SERES, SaiDou represents more than just divesting the loss-making operations of Landian. By bringing in state capital, industrial investors, and ByteDance's AI capabilities, the automaker has gained new leverage in the highly competitive 100,000 to 200,000 yuan mainstream market.

Still, significant hurdles remain. Building a brand from scratch, establishing independent sales channels, navigating overseas compliance, and convincing target users of its non-Huawei autonomous driving choices are challenges SaiDou cannot avoid. Whether a legacy automaker with manufacturing prowess and a tech giant deeply versed in AI can truly drive innovation on the product level is a question only the market can answer.