SHANGHAI – Huawei Technologies on Sunday launched five autopilot solutions, including one running on its HarmonyOS operating system.
The products, which will be mass-produced in cars to be developed with carmakers later this year, are part of the $ 1 billion telecommunications hardware company’s investment in automotive and electric vehicle research in 2021 to capture growing demand for electricity in the largest car market in the world.
The launch was preceded by the presentation on Saturday of two versions of Arcfox Alpha S, a premium electric vehicle, co-developed by Huawei’s smart car solutions business unit; and Arcfox, a unit of state-controlled automaker BAIC Group.
Both versions were also equipped with HarmonyOS, marking the debut in a vehicle ahead of Huawei smartphones. Huawei developed HarmonyOS following trade sanctions imposed by the United States, which considered Huawei and other Chinese companies to be national security risks. The Shenzhen-based company recently said Washington’s actions have affected the company’s progress and created a chip crisis affecting the global semiconductor industry.
“We have established extensive cooperation with about 200 global automakers and industry partners,” Wang Jun, president of the automotive smart solutions unit, told reporters on Sunday. Wang leads a 5,000-strong workforce of researchers, 2,000 of whom focus on autopilot technologies.
Huawei will offer solutions to others, but will not produce cars on its own, unlike rival Xiaomi. “If we can do well in vehicle parts, why do we have to produce cars?” asked Wang, who explained that making cars is not necessarily a money maker.
Wang Jun, president of Huawei’s smart car solutions business, unveiled five “level 4” automatic driving products on April 18th. (Photo courtesy of Huawei Technologies) © Huawei
The $ 1 billion investment reflects the company’s belief that smart vehicles powered by artificial intelligence will be the most disruptive force in the industry over the next decade.
Huawei’s smart solutions focus on a new computing and communications architecture that controls driving, connectivity and the entertainment system, as well as cloud technology.
For example, the smart cockpit running on HarmonyOS can turn the windshield into a 70-inch high-definition screen, allowing passengers to watch movies, play games and hold video conferences. It works like a smartphone ecosystem that allows users to connect to their favorite apps.
Huawei’s announcements came ahead of the 19th Shanghai car show, which will open to the press on Monday and later this week. Both local and international carmakers are expected to unveil new models to meet the growing demand for electric vehicles.
Led by US company Tesla and local rival Nio, sales of so-called new energy vehicles rose 11% to 1.37 million units in China in 2020, even when car sales contracted by 1 , 9% to 25.3 million units.
“There are 30 million vehicles on the Chinese market,” Xu Zhijun, Huawei’s current rotating president, said Monday.
“Even if we do not expand our business with vehicles in foreign countries, we are still self-sustaining with the growth of domestic demand, with an average annual income of 10,000 yuan [$1,533] on the car, “Xu said.” But Huawei is certainly a global brand and will not just focus on the local market. “
Market research firm Canalys projected in February that Chinese electricity sales will increase by 51% this year. “But with the expansion of Tesla’s portfolio in China, it will be difficult for competitors offering premium electric vehicles to gain market share,” Vice President Sandy Fitzpatrick said in a press release. “Given this, some Chinese carmakers are already looking for growth opportunities in other parts of the world, especially in Europe.”
The basic and high-end HI versions of Arcfox’s pure electric Alpha S crossover sports utility vehicle mark Huawei’s mass production of an automated driving system. They feature lidar, radar-style light detection technology, which is the key to driving automation. A Huawei spokesman said the vehicles could reach level 3 or “conditional driving automation”, on a scale where level 5 does not require human interaction.
With price tags of 388,900 yuan and 429,900 yuan, they bear the Huawei logo, in line with the diversification of the technology company’s portfolio beyond smartphones and 5G network devices. Vehicles can travel 708 km per load. The Tesla Y model sells for about 350,000 yuan and has a range of 594 km.
In addition to BAIC Motor, Huawei is also collaborating with two other state-controlled car manufacturers – Chongqing Changan Automobile and Guangzhou Automobile Group – to develop automatic vehicles.