- Huawei and Avatr are working together on product definition, user insights, and marketing strategies, according to local media.
- Last December, Avatr and Huawei signed an agreement to deepen their strategic cooperation.
Chinese tech giant Huawei has reportedly already co-worked with Changan Automobile's (SHE: 200625) electric vehicle (EV) subsidiary Avatr Technology, after signing an agreement to deepen the partnership in December last year.
Huawei has sent a team of nearly 300 people to Avatr's headquarters in Chongqing, southwestern China, with an entire floor of office space, according to a report yesterday in local media outlet The Beijing News.
The two are working together on areas including product definition, user insights, and marketing strategies for the second-generation products, according to the report.
Avatr has completed the Chinese trademark registration for Tajie (塔界), which could become the sixth new brand under Huawei's HIMA (Harmony Intelligent Mobility Alliance) business, the report noted.
Earlier today, however, another local media outlet, Yicai, cited sources inside Huawei as saying that Avatr's move to register Tajie has nothing to do with HIMA.
Avatr was initially co-founded as Changan Nio by Changan and Nio (NYSE: NIO) on July 10, 2018, when the two took a 50 percent stake each.
After a number of new funding rounds, Nio is currently no longer on Avatr's shareholder list.
Avatr and Huawei had been working together since 2022 based on the Huawei Inside (HI) approach, under which the Avatr 11, Avatr 12, and Avatr 07 were launched.
These Avatr models are equipped with Huawei's smart driving and smart cockpit programs, but their product definition, marketing, and manufacturing are led by Avatr.
On December 12 last year, Avatr signed an agreement with Huawei at the tech giant's headquarters in Shenzhen to deepen their strategic cooperation.
The two sides would cooperate in depth in areas including product development, marketing and ecological services to support Avatr in building its next-generation series of models, the two companies said in announcements at the time.
Local media outlet 36kr reported at the time that the partnership between the two was an upgraded version of the HI approach, dubbed HI Plus by some industry insiders.
The most significant difference between the new approach and Huawei's HIMA (Harmony Intelligent Mobility Alliance) approach is that the vehicles are not sold through Huawei's channels, according to the report.
Huawei has three ways of partnering with car companies, with its approach of launching a new brand being the one it's most deeply involved in. Initially known as Zhixuan, the approach was upgraded in November 2023 to HIMA.
Under the HIMA business, Huawei has jointly created four new brands with local car companies -- Seres Group's Aito, Chery's Luxeed, BAIC Group's Stelato, and Anhui Jianghuai Automobile Group's (JAC) Maextro.
On February 21, SAIC Motor (SHA: 600104) officially announced its partnership with Huawei, confirming previous rumors that they would build cars together.
This follows multiple reports that Huawei and SAIC would jointly build a new automotive brand, tentatively called Shangjie (尚界) in Chinese.
Huawei, GAC plan to launch 1st jointly-built model in 2026, report says
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