SAIC chairman rules out using Huawei's self-driving technology

Partnering with a third-party company like Huawei on autonomous driving technology is not acceptable for SAIC Motor, said Chen Hong, chairman of the largest Chinese automaker.

Chen made the remarks at SAIC Group's shareholder meeting while answering a question about whether it would consider working with third-party companies, including Huawei, on autonomous driving.

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"It's like a company providing us with a complete solution so that it becomes the soul and SAIC becomes the body. Such a result is unacceptable to SAIC, and we want to take the soul into our own hands," Chen explained.

Huawei is currently committed to providing a range of supporting solutions for vehicle manufacturers, especially in areas such as autonomous driving.

Rumors about Huawei building cars come out every so often, and in a statement released on May 24, the company once again reiterated that Huawei is not building cars, this long-term strategy was made clear in 2018 and has not changed.

"We believe that what the industry needs is not Huawei-branded cars, but Huawei's ICT technology accumulated over three decades in order to help car companies build future-proof cars," the statement said, adding, "That is, we provide car companies with Huawei-based ICT capabilities for smart connected car components."

On June 28, at the China Automotive Industry Development Summit jointly organized by the China Electric Vehicle Association and Great Wall Motor, Chi Linchun, president of BU Marketing and Sales Services for Huawei Smart Car Solutions, said there are multiple considerations why Huawei is not building cars.

Huawei's ICT business has huge business interests present in the European market, and Germany is the most important market for Huawei's ICT business, while the pillar industry in Germany is the automotive industry, Chi said, adding that if Huawei builds a car, it will bring direct competition.

Chi stressed that cars are very different from cell phone terminals, and Huawei does not currently have the strength to build cars, nor will Huawei hold and invest in any car companies.