Huawei aims to become a major player in the electric vehicle market
Huawei, the Chinese tech giant that is best known for its telecommunications products and smartphones, is pushing its technology into the electric vehicle (EV) market. The company has announced several partnerships with automakers to supply its smart vehicle operating system, called Huawei Inside, which enables features such as autonomous driving, cloud computing, and artificial intelligence.
Huawei has also been working on developing its own branded EVs, which would compete with the likes of Tesla, Xiaomi, and other tech firms that have entered the EV space. Huawei has denied that it will make cars on its own, but it has been in talks to acquire a controlling stake in a small domestic automaker’s EV unit, according to sources.
Huawei’s foray into EVs comes as the company faces U.S. sanctions that have cut its access to key supply chains and forced it to sell a part of its smartphone business. The company sees EVs as a strategic shift and a new growth opportunity in the world’s largest market for such vehicles.
Huawei Inside powers smart cars with ArcFox, BAIC, and Changan
Huawei has signed agreements with three state-owned Chinese carmakers, namely BAIC Group, Changan Automobile, and Guangzhou Automobile Group, to provide its Huawei Inside system for their smart cars. Huawei Inside is a platform that integrates hardware, software, and cloud services to enable intelligent and connected vehicles.
One of the first models to feature Huawei Inside is the ArcFox Alpha S, a luxury EV brand under BAIC’s BluePark New Energy Technology. The ArcFox Alpha S was unveiled at the Shanghai Auto Show earlier this month and claims to have a range of 708 kilometers and a battery life of 10 years. The car also boasts of a 5G-enabled cockpit, a 4D dynamic navigation system, and a Lidar sensor that can detect obstacles up to 300 meters away.
Huawei is also seeking to control the ArcFox brand, according to sources, but BAIC is more keen to have Huawei as a minority shareholder. Huawei has also been collaborating with Changan and Guangzhou Automobile on their EV models, such as the Changan UNI-T and the GAC Aion V, which are expected to launch later this year.
Huawei plans to launch its own EVs under the Aito and Seres brands
Huawei is not only supplying its technology to other automakers, but also planning to launch its own EVs under its own nameplate. The company has been in talks to take control of a small domestic automaker’s EV unit, Chongqing Jinkang New Energy Automobile, which owns the U.S. EV brand Seres, formerly known as SF Motors.
Seres has a factory in Indiana and a research center in Silicon Valley, and has launched two EV models, the SF5 and the SF7, in China and the U.S. respectively. Huawei is interested in acquiring Jinkang’s assets and using Seres as a platform to make its own EVs, according to sources.
Huawei has also partnered with another Chinese automaker, BAIC Blue Valley, to launch the Aito M5, the first car with Huawei’s HarmonyOS operating system. The Aito M5 is a compact SUV that has a range of 401 kilometers and can accelerate from 0 to 100 kilometers per hour in 7.6 seconds. The car also features a 12.3-inch touchscreen, a voice assistant, and a smart parking system. The Aito M5 is set to begin deliveries at a ceremony on Saturday in Shanghai, according to an announcement on social media.
Huawei’s entry into the EV market is seen as a challenge to Tesla, which dominates the premium EV segment in China. Huawei has also been involved in a legal dispute with Tesla over patent infringement allegations. Huawei claims that Tesla has used its patented technology for autonomous driving without authorization, and has filed lawsuits in China and the U.S. Tesla has denied the allegations and has countersued Huawei for patent infringement.
