By ZHOU Shuqi
Aion, GAC’s EV wing, has denied any split with Huawei following reports in Caixin that the two will not proceed on the EV project.
In July last year, GAC Group announced that the Aion AH8 model would use the 2020 Huawei Inside system with semi-autopilot features. Though Aion has said the cooperation continues, it is clearly not going as well as expected. A week ago, Aion’s VP XIAO Yong said that the company has “no room to maneuver” in the face of a colossus like Huawei.
The ARCFOX aS made by BAIC Group was the first EV to use Huawei Inside. The first unit was delivered in July, mass production will start in September. Chang’an Automobile’s Avatr 11 also plans to use Inside. When Chang’an EVs went on presale, the company claimed it received more than 10,000 orders in just 33 minutes, though since then releases have been less effusive.
EV maker Seres, based in Silicon Valley, is deeply connected with Huawei. Its Aito M7 supposedly received more than 60,000 orders in three days. Seres’ revenue in H1 grew to US billion (12.4 billion yuan). New energy business jumped 380 percent.
Seres is often criticized for relying too much on Huawei that the company is basically a Huawei factory. Parts of Aito are from Huawei, and the EV appears in the Huawei flagship store. Even the marketing was designed by Huawei.
Traditional carmakers have been cautious about working with third parties like Huawei. Though the telecom giant repeatedly said it will not manufacture cars itself.
The president of SAIC Group CHEN Hong said in June last year that Huawei’s total solution was taking away the personality of car making. "SAIC will not become a soulless vehicle for other people’s code," he said. "Core software must be our own."
