By Qiaoyi Li and Brenda Goh
BEIJING (Reuters) – Chinese technology company Huawei unveiled a new intelligent driving software brand on Wednesday, marking its latest attempt to become a major player in the electric car industry.
The new brand Qiankun, which symbolizes a combination of the sky and the Kunlun Mountains, plans to provide self-driving systems involving the driving chassis, audio and driver’s seat, said Jin Yuzhi, CEO of Huawei’s Intelligent Automotive Solution (IAS) business unit, during an event prior to the Beijing auto show.
“2024 will be the first year for the mass commercialization of smart driving, and the cumulative number of cars on the road equipped with Huawei’s self-driving system will exceed 500,000 by the end of the year,” Jin said.
He also expected that within a year, more than ten car models using Huawei’s Qiankun system would be released.
The Shenzhen-based tech conglomerate launched its smart car unit in 2019 with the aim that it could become the equivalent of German auto supplier Bosch of the intelligent EV era and provide software and components to partners.
Huawei said in November that the unit would be spun off into a new company that would receive the unit’s core technologies and resources and take on investments from partners such as carmaker Changan Auto.
So far, the company has also unveiled seven EV models in collaboration with Chinese automakers and they are selling well, Jin said.
They include three models from the Aito brand in collaboration with Seres, the Luxeed S7 sedan co-developed with Chery, two models with Changan Auto-backed Avatr and one with Arcfox, owned by Beijing Automotive Group (BAIC).
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On Tuesday, Huawei also unveiled the S9 sedan, the first model under the premium Stelato brand that it launched together with BAIC.
The diversification into electric cars comes amid an intensifying price war in the world’s largest auto market, which is struggling with slowing sales momentum and growing concerns about overcapacity as more than 40 brands compete for consumer attention.
Earlier this month, Huawei-backed Aito offered discounts of up to 20,000 yuan ($2,760) on its new M7 SUVs until the end of April.
($1 = 7.2455 renminbi)
