In a move to expand its presence in the auto industry, Huawei Technologies is partnering with more established automakers to produce Aito-branded electric cars, according to a senior executive’s statement on Saturday.
Richard Yu, the CEO of Huawei’s Smart Cars, announced at the China EV 100 in Beijing that Huawei will collaborate with Chery Automobile, BAIC Motor, and Anhui Jianghuai Automobile Group to develop and manufacture Aito-branded vehicles.
Yu stated that Huawei, which has a partnership with Seres Group to produce Aito cars, is planning to introduce a range of models including SUVs, sedans, and multipurpose vehicles under the Aito brand.
In 2022, Seres sold a total of 80,000 Aito cars that were equipped with Huawei’s HarmonyOS system, which the company created as an alternative to Android, according to company filings, which is more than six times higher than the year before.
Eric Xu, the Chairman of Huawei, stated at a press conference on Friday that the company doesn’t specialize in car production and instead collaborates with other companies to create superior vehicles.
Yu stated that Huawei’s partnerships with global automakers have been impacted by the sanctions, as they have stopped using Huawei’s vehicle connectivity technologies in the last two years.