Chinese firm Seres targets Audi and Tesla ahead of UK launch

Arriving at the same time as the 5 is the larger 7, a six-seat SUV positioned as a rival for the likes of the Land Rover Discovery.

It's offered exclusively with REx powertrains with the same 40kWh battery and 263bhp rear motor as in the 5 REx.

The dual-motor version, however, swaps the AC motor at the front of the 5 for a permanent-magnet motor similar to that on the rear axle. That gives the dual-motor 7 combined outputs of 433bhp and 482lb ft and a 0-62mph sprint time of 4.8sec.

Its WLTP electric-only range is 84 miles in single-motor form and 87 miles in dual-motor form. 

European specifications for the 9 SUV have yet to be announced, but it's longer and taller than its siblings and offers the same mix of BEV and REx powertrains. It will arrive in Europe after the 5 and 7. 

Seres believes its cars can capitalise on untapped demand for advanced digital services and accompanying updates that can transform a car’s functionality throughout its lifespan. 

“We aim to redefine luxury with technology, with intelligence,” its foreign markets boss, Jiaxi You, told Autocar.

“The smart cockpit, for example: you can talk to the cars and [activate] autonomous driving or the navigation assistant. That’s a highlight of the vehicles. We're mainly focused on two areas: the smart cockpit and ADAS [advanced driver assistance systems].”

Those driver aids, You claimed, are “only restricted by the regulations”. Referring to the SAE levels of autonomy, You said the cars are “very near level three”, meaning they can take full control in preset conditions.

You added that he believes Seres’ advantage to be in how quickly it can update each car over the air, compared with European rivals.

He said: “When we do have a new software version, we can push this to our customers by an over-the-air (OTA) update. The software evolves itself week by week. We keep collecting inputs and feedback from our customers to improve our product constantly.”

He claimed that “it’s much more agile than traditional development”, with “dedicated people for overseas markets” allowing Seres to tailor new features to a specific region’s tastes.

“We keep a close eye on the customer feedback for different scenarios," You continued. "If there’s a bug fix, you will get that instantly overnight, but if there’s a product upgrade, new features, new functions, we will [bundle] that to avoid OTA too much over time.”

You also believes that the lack of physical buttons inside Seres’ cars – they only feature switchgear on the steering wheel for critical controls – isn't a concern.