Huawei-Backed AITO M7’s Rear Row Reportedly Lacks Heating Function
Some AITO M7 owners have recently claimed that the vehicle’s rear ventilation system cannot generate heat. Customer service staff of AITO confirmed that rear positions in the car model are only capable of cooling, but the heating functions in the front can meet temperature demands for the whole car.
The M7 manual indeed notes that the rear air conditioner vents only support cooling. However, one vehicle owner posted that even if the air conditioning temperature in the first row is turned up, the third row in the rear of the car is still cold. The owner also claimed that the AITO M5 model does not have this problem.
Chinese media outlet Dongchedi said that the AITO M7 sales team provided a standard response to such problems, officially denying that the second row doesn’t support heating and confirming the failure of heating functions in the third row. The two air outlets in the second row of the M7 are connected with the first row. Therefore, when the first row’s heating functions are turned on, hot air can also be blown into the second row.
The M7 is the second model from the AITO brand, which was created by Huawei and Seres. Priced between 319,800 yuan and 379,800 yuan ($44,523 – $52,877), its models target the luxury SUV sector. Richard Yu, CEO of Huawei’s Intelligent Vehicle Solution BU, stressed at the launch event that the M7 will be more comfortable than MPVs worth 1 million yuan. Orders for the M7 topped 20,000 four hours after the price was announced.
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Soon after its launch, many came to believe that the M7 was built based on the ix7 model of Dongfeng Fengguang, which starts from 125,900 yuan. The two models are very similar in terms of frame structure and key parameters such as its wheelbase. Yu refuted these arguments, claiming, “Some people said that the M7 is the same as cars worth tens of thousands of yuan. Actually, even the basic part – the chassis – is much different.”
Through the different layout of the compressor, expansion valve and evaporation box and other devices, automobiles can realize cold air transport functions for different areas by only one refrigeration device.
The heating system, however, is different. In traditional fuel vehicles, warm air comes from the extra heat generated by the operation of the engine, which is led to the radiator of the air conditioning system through the water pipe and then sent to the car for heating. For large vehicles, such as SUVs and MPVs that require air supply in multiple zones, a waterway to the rear compartment is needed, generating high costs.
In addition, this solution has technical difficulties in electric or extended-range hybrid vehicles, as there is no heat source. To continuously provide stable warm air in the car, automobile makers need to arrange the same PTC heating device in the rear row as in the front row. This solution has the advantages of fast heating and low costs, but it generates high energy consumption.