Chinese telecommunications and smartphone giant Huawei is doubling down on selling its tech in the competitive electric car market.
The company has emphasized it doesn’t manufacture cars. Instead, it sells tech components such as its Harmony OS operating system and driver-assist product, or works with automakers to create new EV brands.
Huawei on Tuesday confirmed it is working with at least four traditional automakers in China on new car brands, after news over the weekend of a joint venture with Changan Automobile for car technology.
Changan and Huawei are already partners for the Avatr electric car brand, created in 2018 with electric car battery giant Contemporary Amperex Technology. Avatr’s SUV and sedan each sell for slightly more than the equivalent of $42,000.
Huawei is also working with Chery on the Luxeed electric car brand, which revealed details for its S7 sedan on Tuesday.
Smilar partnerships with BAIC Motor and JAC Motor are in the works, Richard Yu, head of Huawei’s car-related and consumer business, said at a Luxeed launch event Tuesday.
BAIC, whose Arcfox electric brand already uses Huawei tech, and JAC did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Chinese automakers with products “lacking in the tech necessary to compete seem more than happy to use Huawei’s [tech] to fill the voids,” said Tu Le, founder of Beijing-based advisory firm Sino Auto Insights.
“It’s still too early to know how [Huawei’s] solution measures up to its competitors but they, like many other tech companies, see the opportunity and are going all-in on it,” he said.
Tencent, which operates China’s social media app WeChat, has claimed it supplies BMW and some other automakers with car tech.
plans to release a car in the first half of next year. The company announced in late October a new operating system called HyperOS.