This major smartphone OEM wants Mercedes and Audi to use its software
Huawei, a major smartphone OEM, telecom supplier, and (formerly) silicon designer, is engaging German carmakers Mercedes and Audi over a potential stake in its vehicle software business. Huawei currently supplies vehicle software to several Chinese domestic OEMs, including Seres Group, Changan Automobile, and Arcfox, as well its own joint ventures, Luxeed (co-owned by Chery) and Avatr (co-owned by CATL).
According to the report from Automotive News Europe, Huawei is enticing Mercedes and Audi to buy small stakes in its automotive technology group — likely laying the foundation for partnerships on software (i.e., for Audi and Mercedes to use Huawei’s in-vehicle OS and possibly its artificial intelligence suite). This comes on the heels of rumors that Huawei is trying to sell off its automotive business unit entirely, likely as part of efforts to distance the division from Huawei itself, which remains the target of crippling US sanctions.
Apparently, Mercedes has all but turned down Huawei, saying it has no interest in the venture and wishes to continue developing its own vehicle software in-house. The report is much less certain about Audi’s response, but as part of the larger VW Group, Audi is heavily invested in the work coming out of Cariad, Volkswagen’s own software division. However, given Cariad’s recent struggles — which possibly led to Porsche’s decision to adopt Android Automotive — perhaps Audi is interested in exploring alternatives.
That same report says Audi and Huawei could partner on autonomous driving technology… for vehicles in the Chinese market produced as part of Audi’s venture with FAW Group.
Electrek’s Take
As someone who covered Huawei extensively in my career as a tech journalist, I’m very familiar with its struggles in the international market. After brutal US sanctions were enacted, Huawei’s presence globally vanished almost overnight. While it sold off its Honor smartphone unit (though Huawei phones remain on sale in China), Huawei still has its hands in many, many businesses — automotive is just one on a long list.
Now, whether Huawei’s in-vehicle software is actually good is another question entirely. My suspicion is not that Huawei anticipates western car manufacturers wanting to adopt that software in the cars they sell in their home markets, but for the cars they sell and co-manufacture in China. The Chinese market has rather different expectations and standards when it comes to what constitutes “good” software; take a look at any Chinese smartphone running domestic apps and services and you’ll feel utterly bombarded by information and garish design elements. Couple that with the overhead of providing proper localization for all the content and interfaces in a car, and it’s not hard to see why working with a third-party software supplier for China-specific vehicles could be a defensible business position.
However, vehicle OEMs feel a deep sense of ownership over all elements of their products, even the ones they aren’t directly responsible for creating. This has been a real sticking point in getting manufacturers to adopt Android Automotive and the next generation of CarPlay, both of which tend to have applications that look and feel like their respective parent mobile operating systems (and also prominently feature their services). While Android Automotive is available as an open source platform that is fully de-Googled, I personally believe there remains intense stigma in the OEM space about using a Google software product in a vehicle. Whether that stigma is deserved is harder to say, because I don’t believe Google’s strong-arming of smartphone manufacturers over Android’s look, feel, and function would be at all replicable in the automotive space.
My guess on this whole story is that Huawei simply wants the attention in media because it believes any press is good press at this point. The company’s car software being mentioned in the same breath as brands like Audi and Mercedes supports its high valuation in the private marketplace and potentially gets it in the door for conversations with other brands. But if Mercedes’ response is any indicator, I still have serious doubts Huawei will convince anyone outside China to play ball, let alone that it can escape the US-inflicted taint on its brand.
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Environment
Baidu- and Geely-backed JiYue brand unveils ROBO X EV that goes 0-100 km/h in under 1.9 sec
JiYue, a Chinese EV brand focused on delivering all-electric “robocars” to the masses, has unveiled its latest model, and it’s quite a deviation from its previous EVs—but in the best way. Earlier today, JiYue launched the ROBO X supercar, designed for high-speed racing. By high speed, we mean 0-100 km/h acceleration in under 1.9 seconds. My mouth is watering.
JiYue has only existed since 2021, when parent tech company Baidu announced it was expanding from software development into physical EV production, joining forces with multinational automotive manufacturer Geely.
The new “robotic EV” marque initially launched as JIDU with $300 million in startup capital before garnering an additional $400 million in Series A funding, led by Baidu, in January 2022.
In August 2023, Geely took on a larger role in JIDU alongside a greater financial stake as the brand reimagined itself as JiYue, inheriting the JIDU logo and its flagship model, the 01 ROBOCAR.
In December 2023, Baidu and Geely unveiled a second model called the JiYue 07. It was born from JIDU’s ROBO-02 concept, which debuted in 2023 and was designed to compete against the Tesla Model 3 in China.
The 07 finally launched in China earlier this year with 545 miles of range. With an all-electric SUV and sedan on the market, JiYue has unveiled an exciting new entry in the form of a performance supercar called the ROBO X. Check it out:
JiYue’s new ROBO X EV is available for pre-order now
JiYue showcased its new ROBO X hypercar in front of the crowd at the 2024 Guangzhou Auto Show earlier today. Similar to previous models but with a unique spin, JiYue described the ROBO X as an AI smart-driving supercar that, for the first time, blends artificial intelligence and autonomous driving into a high-performance, race-ready EV.
When we say “high performance,” we mean a quad motor liquid-cooled drive system that can propel the ROBO X from 0 to 100 km/h (0 to 62 mph) in under 1.9 seconds. JiYue called the new ROBO X a “performance beast” with “the perfect balance of excellent aerodynamic performance and high downforce.” JiYue CEO Joe Xia was even bolder in his statements about the ROBO X:
For the next 20 years, the design of supercars will bear the shadow of Robo X. This is the best design in the history of Chinese automobiles today, and it is a landmark presence.
Fighter-style airflow ducts bolster the EV’s aerodynamics, efficiency, and overall posture. Per JiYue, the two-seater ROBO X is expected to deliver a maximum range of over 650 km (404 miles).
The new supercar features falcon-wing doors, a carbon fiber integrated frame, and a professional racing HALO safety system offering 360° of support. The interior features an AI smart cockpit with SIMO real-time feedback to give drivers an immersive racing experience.
Furthermore, JiYue said the vehicle will utilize parent company Baidu’s Apollo self-driving technology, which could make it the first electric supercar to apply pure-vision ADAS technology that enables track-level autonomous driving.
Following today’s unveiling of the ROBO X, JiYue has officially opened up pre-orders in China for RMB 49,999 ($6,915). That said, reservation holders will need to be patient as JiYue shared that it doesn’t expect to begin mass production of the ROBO X until 2027.
What do you think? Will people be talking about the ROBO X for the next 20 years?
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This week on Electrek’s Wheel-E podcast, we discuss the most popular news stories from the world of electric bikes and other nontraditional electric vehicles. This time, that includes the launch of the Lectric XPedition 2.0, Yamaha e-bikes pulling out of North America, LiveWire unveils an electric scooter concept, PNY readying its cargo e-scooters for pilot testing, Royal Enfield’s first electric motorcycle, and more.
The Wheel-E podcast returns every two weeks on Electrek’s YouTube channel, Facebook, Linkedin, and Twitter.
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Crude oil futures were on pace Friday for loss for the week, as a supply gut and a strong dollar depresses the market.
U.S. crude oil is down more than 2% this week, while Brent has shed nearly 2%.
Here are Friday’s energy prices:
- West Texas Intermediate December contract: $68.56 per barrel, down 14 cents, or 0.2%. Year to date, U.S. crude oil has shed about 4%.
- Brent January contract: $72.36 per barrel, down 20 cents, or 0.28%. Year to date, the global benchmark has lost nearly 6%.
- RBOB Gasoline December contract: $1.99 per gallon, up 0.46%. Year to date, gasoline has fallen more than 1%.
- Natural Gas December contract: $2.70 per thousand cubic feet, down 2.98%. Year to date, gas has gained more than 4%.
The International Energy Agency has forecast a surplus of more than 1 million barrels per day in 2025 on robust production in the U.S. OPEC revised down its demand forecast for the fourth consecutive month as demand in China remains soft.
A strong dollar also hangs over the market, as the greenback has surged in the wake of President-elect Donald Trump’s election victory.
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