Huawei's layout in the automotive field may go further.
Recently, HD Auto Business Weekly (ID:HD-Auto) learned exclusively that Huawei intends to participate in the new energy automobile company-Avril. According to informed sources, "If it is a trip, it may not be funded by Huawei, but it may be invested through its funds."
If you successfully invest in Changan Weilai, does it mean that Huawei has violated the promise of "not building a car"?
In fact, taking a stake in automobile manufacturing is not the same as manufacturing automobiles. Strategic coordination and deepening cooperation should be more important considerations. It is not impossible for Huawei to explore a brand-new intelligent network joint venture business model.
For this investment, Huawei said that it had "never heard of" related matters, but Changan Automobile did not respond.
Since the release of the vehicle module ME909T at the end of 20 13, Huawei began to enter the automobile industry. At that time, the company also promised to invest hundreds of millions of yuan each year for research and development related to the Internet of Vehicles.
After a period of precipitation, the new four modernizations and the 5G wave helped Huawei's car networking business press the fast forward button. SAIC, FAW, Dongfeng, Chang 'an, BAIC and other domestic traditional car companies have all reached cooperation with Huawei. The early cooperation was mainly based on the vehicle networking and the vehicle-road cooperation scheme of V2X.
With the deepening of changes in the field of automotive intelligent networking, Huawei will not be satisfied with being a provider of automotive networking modules.
At the Shanghai Auto Show in April 20 19, Huawei, which participated in the exhibition for the first time, attracted attention from all walks of life. At that time, Xu Zhijun, the rotating chairman of Huawei, gave Huawei a new position in the automotive field-an incremental parts supplier for intelligent networked vehicles.
Based on and focusing on ICT (information and communication technology), Huawei hopes to provide automotive companies with in-vehicle computing platforms and intelligent driving subsystem solutions, autonomous driving cloud services, 4G/5G in-vehicle mobile communication modules, T-BOX and in-vehicle networks, and Huawei HiCar interconnection solutions.
2065438+In May 2009, Ren personally signed the organizational change document and formally established Huawei's smart car solution BU.
Now car companies are beginning to realize the importance of software and are paying attention to software-defined cars. Huawei's automotive business has also expanded to the operating system and electronic and electrical architecture.
Previously, Wang Jun, president of Huawei's smart car solution BU, announced the in-vehicle system of HarmonyOS system, including HarmonyOS cockpit operating system HOS, intelligent driving operating system AOS and intelligent vehicle control operating system VOS. At the same time, Cai, CTO of Huawei Smart Car Solutions Division, introduced Huawei's digital system architecture for automotive electronics and basic software platforms at the China Auto Forum in August this year.
Wang Jun once revealed that Huawei's team of 65,438+100,000 people in Wu Hanyou is studying the technology in the field of optoelectronics, among which the research team of lidar was set up to set foot in the hardware field of smart cars.
Huawei is like a machine that can't stop, and it needs a steady stream of energy to move forward. The outside world sees that Huawei's business is getting wider and wider and the company is getting bigger and bigger.
Recently, due to well-known reasons, Huawei's mobile phone business has been frustrated, which may make the company pay more attention to the automotive field. After all, this technology giant needs new growth points to carry possible redundant manpower.
From vehicle networking to vehicle-road coordination, from communication module to electronic and electrical architecture, from software platform to hardware such as laser radar, Huawei's smart car solution BU is expanding faster and faster.
Since entering the automobile industry, Huawei has hesitated to build a car before.
20 15 apple's "titan" car-making plan flows from the inside. To this end, Huawei had a heated discussion on whether to build a car. The final decision is "Huawei does not build cars."
"We will never build a car. We are a module of the Internet of Vehicles." At the beginning of 20 19, the founder of Huawei was determined.
However, as mentioned above, Huawei's smart car business has developed to the present, and it is no longer limited to the field of car networking. In addition to applications such as car-making and music, more and more automotive software and hardware fields have begun to appear Huawei.
On September 8, Huawei Electric Technology Co., Ltd. was incorporated, with Huawei Technology Co., Ltd. holding 100%, and its business scope includes: engineering technology research and testing; Intelligent vehicle equipment manufacturing; Intelligent vehicle equipment sales.
A senior analyst in the automotive industry bluntly said that if Huawei really built a car, it would not be surprising, because Huawei needs a lot of business to support so many people.
"Huawei will definitely build a car in the end." The CEO of a startup in the field of automotive intelligent networking in China told HD Automotive Business Weekly that Huawei's current path is to become the future Bosch, and auto companies don't want to see another powerful supplier in the market. "They were finally forced to build a car.".
In the era of software-defined cars, aspiring car companies are investing heavily in the research and development of software systems and electronic and electrical architecture, and they refuse to let others control their lifeblood.
However, even if Huawei really chooses to build a car, the threat to other car companies is not so great. There are already many new players in the field of new energy vehicles. Changan Weilai will not be too big, and car companies may not be particularly sensitive.
But looking back, the shareholding in OEM does not mean that Huawei directly builds cars. It is more likely to deepen the relationship with car companies.
After all, once the business promotion of electronic and electrical architecture is not smooth, Huawei can also demonstrate its technology by assembling the vehicles of participating companies and attract more customers with product strength.
"If Huawei really wants to invest in Changan Weilai, it is not necessarily the original intention of the company." An investor in the auto industry told HD Auto Business Weekly that the driving force behind it should come from Changan Automobile.
Changan Weilai New Energy Automobile Technology Co., Ltd., a new energy automobile company formally established in August 2065438+2008, is no longer a "co-creation company" between Changan Automobile and Weilai.
Initially, on April 9, 20 17, Changan and Weilai signed an agreement to establish a joint venture company. At the beginning, Weilai hoped to further share the three-power technology and charging and replacing infrastructure to reduce operating costs, and also hoped that the joint venture company could purchase some Weilai supply chain products.
As for Changan Automobile, we need to find a "helper" in the process of the transformation of the new four modernizations, and at the same time we need to develop to the high end.
Therefore, at the beginning of the establishment of Changan Weilai, Changan and Weilai each held 50% of the shares. However, due to financial difficulties and the high cost of Weilai's supply chain products, Li Bin and Weilai gradually retreated behind the scenes, and even gradually withdrew.
On the one hand, it is Wei Lai's weakness, on the other hand, Changan Automobile has long planned.
2065438+August 2009, Yang Dayong, then general manager of brand public relations department of Changan Automobile and responsible for the preparation of high-end brand of Changan, said that the high-end brand of Changan would be under the responsibility of Changan Weilai team. In other words, Changan Weilai at that time had been incorporated into the system of Changan Automobile.
In June this year, Li Bin stepped down as the chairman of Changan Weilai, and this position was taken over by the executive vice president of Changan Automobile. At the same time, according to the information in Changan Automobile's semi-annual report this year, on June 4, 2020, Changan Automobile increased its capital by cash, and already held 95.38% of the shares.
Building a brand-new high-end brand requires continuous investment of funds. Changan Automobile's financial report shows that the company continued to lose money on the Changan Weilai project, with a loss of 4.934 million yuan in 20 18, and the loss in the first half of this year expanded to 56.937 million yuan.
Although Chang 'an Weilai's loss is not much compared with the loss of hundreds of millions or even billions of new car-making troops every year, it is beneficial to introduce social capital to share costs, reduce risks and cooperate with each other.
Huawei is a good choice. 2065438+In July 2008, Huawei and Changan Automobile signed a strategic cooperation agreement in Shenzhen, and planned to establish a joint innovation center.
20 19 65438+ 10/0/5, this joint innovation center was unveiled in Chongqing. On the same day, the two sides reached an agreement on comprehensively deepening strategic cooperation. In the field of intelligence, the two sides will cooperate on more than 10 forward-looking technologies such as L4 autonomous driving, 5G car networking and C-V2X.
Interestingly, this agreement also involves the field of new energy: the two sides will jointly build a world-class and China-leading intelligent electric vehicle platform.
Based on the friendly cooperation with Chang 'an and the previous strategic agreement, if Chang 'an An Wei comes to introduce foreign investors, Huawei is indeed a worthy partner.
For Changan Wei, to build a high-end brand, the technological attribute bonus brought by Huawei brand will be a great help. Huawei can also get "insurance" for business landing, and at the same time, based on Changan Weilai, it has the opportunity to further deepen cooperation with Changan.
If the cooperation between car companies and suppliers at the equity level is successful, then Huawei may really be able to explore a brand-new intelligent network joint venture business model.
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