Huawei releases first smart car with car maker partner Chery Auto

By Li Panpan

(JW Insights) Nov 10 -- Chinese tech giant Huawei Technologies and eastern Chinese carmaker Chery Automobile jointly released smart vehicle model Luxeed S7 on November 9.

Chery is one of the leading auto manufacturers based in Wuhu of Anhui Province in eastern China. The Luxeed S7 it is prodcuing is a C-class sedan, which will be the first model equipped with Huawei's latest operating system HarmonyOS 4, intelligent chassis as well as its high-end intelligent driving assistance system. The presale of the car has started, priced from RMB258,000 ($35,415), according to the announcement.

The Luxeed S7 has a battery life of 800 kilometers and can run 400 kilometers in 15 minutes of charging.

Huawei has three approaches for partnering with carmakers: vertical parts supplier, intelligent systems provider through the Huawei Inside partnership model, and full-set solutions provider via the Huawei Smart Selection business model, Richard Yu, chief executive officer of Huawei's Intelligent Automotive Solution Business Unit, said on November 9.

In addition to Chery Auto, Huawei has cooperated with Seres, BAIC BluePark, and JAC Motors under the Smart Selection business model.

Aito, the first smart car model of the Seres brand series that Huawei developed under its Smart Selection business model has achieved good results. Total deliveries of the Aito M5 exceeded 120,000 units; Customers paid non-refundable deposits for more than 86,000 Aito M7s in only 50 days after its release, and the blind bookings of the yet-to-released Aito M9 already exceeded 25,000 units, said Yu.