Huawei is certain to build cars, so why does it always say it “won’t build cars”?

On February 4, it was reported that Wang Jun, COO of Huawei Automotive BU and President of the Intelligent Driving Solutions Product Line, had been suspended, and Yu Chengdong would be solely in charge of the intelligent car business. Huawei has not yet responded to relevant reports. If true, what impact will it have on Huawei's car manufacturing?

Back in May 2019, Huawei Smart Car Solutions BU was officially established. This department is a first-level department of Huawei. The president is Wang Jun and the top person in charge is Xu Zhijun. Its positioning is: not to build cars, but to help car companies build and sell good cars.

How to help car companies build good cars? Huawei Car BU has three external business models: Tier1 (traditional parts supplier model, supplying intelligent parts to car companies), HI model (Huawei Inside model), and smart car selection model.

It is not difficult to see that Tier1 is more traditional, and HI mode and smart car mode are the main controversial tracks. Given Huawei's current situation, whoever can develop rapidly will surely take the lead. As a result, this "car-building" competition also evolved into a direct PK between Wang Jun and Yu Chengdong.

Time is a test of the true value of things. Over the past three years, the HI model has signed contracts with three car companies, namely BAIC Jihu, Changan Avita and GAC. The representative of the smart car selection model is AITO Wenjie, and Chery, JAC, etc. will also start smart car selection. model.

In contrast, the smart car selection model is growing faster and has a higher gross profit margin. Taking Wenjie as an example, Wenjie M5 and Wenjie M7 have been recognized by consumers. A total of more than 75,000 vehicles have been delivered in 2022, making it the fastest-growing new energy vehicle brand.

Fundamentally, the HI model and the smart car selection model are very different from each other in terms of cooperation with car companies: the former is jointly defined and jointly developed with car companies, and uses Huawei's full-stack smart car solutions; the latter is led by Huawei and is deeply involved in product definition and integration. For car design and channel sales, car manufacturers only need to manufacture the "body".

Don't doubt Huawei's technical capabilities and disruptive capabilities. Huawei's arrival will turn the automotive industry upside down. Under Yu Dazui's signature "bragging style" sales promotion, AITO Wenjie has made huge traffic and sales despite constant controversies.

It is reported that Huawei’s smart car selection model is about to expand, and models from Chery, BAIC, and JAC may all adopt the AITO car logo. This does not mean that car manufacturers have become "OEMs", but that both parties should use their own advantages to truly build good cars!

Let’s make a bold assumption: Under the unified leadership of Yu Chengdong, where will Huawei Automobile eventually go?

Previously, Huawei has repeatedly publicly claimed that "Huawei does not build cars." In October 2020, Huawei EMT Resolution [2020] Document No. 007 clarified that Huawei does not build complete vehicles, but focuses on ICT technology to become an incremental component supplier for intelligent connected vehicles to help companies build cars. Who advises building cars? Will be removed from the post.

However, this is not the most important thing. Please pay attention to the small print below: This article will take effect from the date of publication and will be valid for three years. In other words, Huawei will definitely never build a car within three years. The question is, Huawei has laid the foundation within three years. Will it build a car by then?

In the foreseeable future, in an era of homogeneous car manufacturing and software-defined cars, will it still be so difficult for Huawei to build cars? Won't! Huawei is sure to build a car! For similar situations, please refer to Huawei’s previous flags on mobile phones and smart screens.

It doesn’t make mobile phones, but it once became the number one in the world; it doesn’t make TVs, but it exclusively releases smart screens; it doesn’t make chips, but it has no choice but to open chip factories; it always says it doesn’t build cars, is it because the three-year validity period has not yet expired?

Postscript

Smart Car News believes that the road must be walked step by step and the meal must be eaten one bite at a time. The most suitable car-making theory for Huawei now is to carry forward the higher-end intelligent car selection model. On the basis of Wenjie, Chery, JAC, BAIC, etc., it will gradually turn many other car manufacturers into Huawei manufacturers, similar to Wei Come to the car. The model is sophisticated enough and the market is large enough. By then, Huawei's only competitors may really be Tesla and BYD.