(Yicai) July 11 -- Shares of Seres Group fell despite the carmaking partner of Huawei Technologies saying it expects first-half profit to have surged by up to 97 percent, mainly thanks to launching new models last quarter and a jump in premium auto sales.

Seres [SHA: 601127] dropped 4.6 percent to CNY132.06 (USD18.48) a share as of 2.15 p.m. in Shanghai today.

Net profit was likely CNY2.7 billion to CNY3.2 billion (USD370 million to USD440 million) in the six months ended June 30, up 66 percent to 97 percent from a year earlier, the Chongqing-based company announced yesterday. Sales fell 15.8 percent to 198,600 cars, with those of new energy vehicles dropping 14.4 percent to 172,100 units, it added.

However, expensive models often serve as a significant profit source for carmakers, with sales of Seres' luxury Aito M9, co-developed with Huawei, climbing 6.3 percent to 62,492 units.

In addition, Seres and Huawei deepened their ties in the first half of the year. On March 31, Seres joined Avatr Technology, the electric vehicle brand of Changan Automobile, by acquiring a 10 percent stake in Huawei's smart driving unit Yinwang Intelligent Technology, with the Shenzhen-based parent firm owning the rest.

Yingwang focuses on smart in-vehicle devices and provides comprehensive services for car parts, including research and development, manufacturing, remanufacturing, and retail wholesale. It also engages in the artificial intelligence area, offering system integration, basic software development, algorithm development, and services for processing and selling mechanical components.

Editor: Martin Kadiev