The coupe, which will be unveiled this quarter, belongs to the new Luxeed brand and will be the first to come with the HarmonyOS 4 operating system.
Huawei has begun previewing a new coupe model that is expected to come from the tech giant's new joint effort with Chery.
The first all-electric coupe from Huawei's Zhixuan automotive business will be the first to come with the HarmonyOS 4 operating system, Richard Yu, managing director and CEO of the tech company's smart car solutions business unit, said on Weibo today.
HarmonyOS is a new mobile operating system developed by Huawei after it was restricted from using Android several years ago, and saw the release of the latest version, HarmonyOS 4, at Huawei's HDC 2023 developer conference on August 4.
A brand new category for Zhixuan's business, the coupe will feature a disruptive design language that delivers an imagination-breaking coupe experience, Yu said, adding that the model will be announced this quarter.
Yu didn't provide any further details, but the model has "LUXEED" emblazoned across the front, suggesting that it will be under the new Luxeed brand.
This is the first time Luxeed has appeared in the public eye, and some Weibo bloggers have speculated that the brand could be a joint effort between Huawei and Chery, standing for "Luxury exceed." Exceed a sub-brand of Chery.
So far, Huawei's only joint brand with local automakers is AITO, which stands for "Adding Intelligence to Auto".
On December 2, 2021, Seres, previously known as Chongqing Sokon, and Huawei launched the AITO brand, which currently sells the M5 and M7 SUVs in extended-range electric vehicle (EREV) and battery electric vehicle (BEV) versions.
On June 14, 2022, local media outlet 36kr reported that Huawei was building at least two models with Chery, at least one model with Nio's (NYSE: NIO) automotive manufacturing partner Jianghuai Automobile Group Corp (JAC), and that the tech giant has a similar partnership with BAIC's Arcfox brand.
Huawei works with car companies in three ways, with the model of building cars with OEMs being the one it is most involved in, the report noted.
In the model where Huawei is least involved, the tech giant only provides components and the HarmonyOS system. In the middle of the spectrum is the "Huawei Inside" solution.
In the "Zhixuan" model, Huawei is deeply involved in building cars with OEMs, and the models are sold through Huawei's channels. Car companies are mainly responsible for the development of vehicle platforms and production in this process, 36kr previously reported.
Yu is the dominant force behind the Zhixuan model, which is widely believed to be the main form of cooperation that Huawei's automotive business will push in the future, according to the report.
On August 1, Ming-Chi Kuo, an analyst at TF International Securities, a well-known tracker of Apple's supply chain, said Huawei is working with JAC to develop an MPV model priced at nearly RMB 1 million ($140,000).
The model is expected to be mass-produced in the 2nd quarter of 2024, with a shipment target of about 50,000 units a year after launch, Kuo said.
($1 = RMB 7.1913)
Huawei working with JAC on ultra-luxury Aito MPV, says Ming-Chi Kuo
