Author | Nie Yiyao

Out at long last.

A year ago, on the eve of the 2021 Shanghai Auto Show, a video of the Alpha S autonomous driving system of the Faw Huxing Alpha S was uploaded online.

In the video, the driver’s hands were off the steering wheel the whole way as the vehicle rolled along on a not-so-wide road. Various real-time road conditions, such as oncoming cars, sudden takeout electric scooters, and pedestrians crossing the street, were handled skillfully by the car.

This video quickly caught the attention and was shared by netizens.

This marked the debut of the Faw Huxing Alpha S Huawei HI version, the first domestically made vehicle to be equipped with the Huawei Inside full-stack intelligent automotive solutions, which was on display at the 2021 Shanghai Auto Show.

The mystery of autonomous driving, combined with Huawei’s halo, has given the Faw Huxing Alpha S Huawei HI version a built-in momentum, with the promise from Faw Huxing that the car “will be delivered soon“, creating great expectations among the public.

However, the wait was more than a year. Just when people thought that there would be “no news” on Faw Huxing Alpha S Huawei HI version, it was officially launched on the evening of May 7, 2022.

The model name has also changed from “Faw Huxing Alpha S Huawei HI version” to the “Faw Huxing Alpha S new HI version”, with the word “Huawei” being replaced by “new”.

“The announcement of this vehicle was a little too early.”

Perhaps to alleviate the embarrassment of the “upcoming delivery” delay, and to dispel the public’s doubts about why the car was launched over a year later, both sides’ leaders picked up on the “challenges” of both hardware and software over the past year.

“This car has experienced constant technological upgrades during the mass production process, which required more time. The pandemic has had a certain impact on Huawei’s development progress, and the sanctions against Huawei’s supply chain system have also caused some obstacles and disruptions,” said Huawei’s Yu Chengdong.

Liuyu of BAIC gave two examples of the challenges Faw Huxing faced in solving the combination of the vehicle’s hardware and software, explaining that it took a lot of time.

For example, in order to enable the camera behind the windshield of the car to avoid interference from rainwater when it was wet, so that the camera could recognize the image of numbers such as 2, 5, and 8, Faw Huxing made specific adjustments to the angle of the windshield and the middle coating inside the glass.Another one is related to LiDAR for the brand new HI version of the Alpha S by JIHEHU. A LiDAR is installed on the front crash beam of the vehicle, which sets a new requirement for the precision tolerance of the crash beam. The precision tolerance of the normal crash beam is 1.5 mm, which cannot meet the requirements of the new HI version with LiDAR. Therefore, in order to guarantee the measurement accuracy of LiDAR, JIHEHU has reduced the precision tolerance of the front crash beam to 0.5 mm.

“We’ve had many difficulties to overcome, and people keep saying that we are delaying the launch. We feel really aggrieved,” say the two bigwigs.

But that’s not the main point. The key question is: does the famous “Huawei Full-stack Intelligent Automotive Solution” have any magic power to make Huawei fans pay for this new HI version of the JIHEHU Alpha S, priced between RMB 397,900 and RMB 429,900?

When it comes to true love, actions speak louder than words, and Huawei is more concerned about it than JIHEHU.

Huawei “Dating” Everywhere

In recent years, the “new four modernisations” trend in the automotive industry has sparked the enthusiasm of many “trend-setters”.

Everyone is jumping on the bandwagon with their own hidden agendas. Some are exposed as their true selves being washed away by the waves on the beach. Others have become real rulers of the waves, surfing to the next peak of the tide- Intelligent and Connected Vehicles.

The era of “software-defined cars” is an opportunity that has been presented to Huawei. As the “chosen one” of the time, it has no reason to refuse the invitation.

However, as we can see, Huawei has no intention of producing cars under its own name. Instead, it is interested in “helping automakers build vehicles for the future”.

“Providing intelligent connected vehicle components and platform solutions based on Huawei’s ICT technology capabilities for automakers” has become the “golden key” that opens the hearts of automakers to Huawei.

Huawei wisely avoids the role of being both a judge and a contestant, and warmly embraces automakers. Instead of charting the unknown territory of building cars themselves while lacking software engineering and intelligent technology reserves, it is a proper way to join forces with traditional automakers.

Automakers who are used to the traditional supply chain model are also willing to join hands with Huawei in this way. First, from the perspective of the traditional supply chain, Huawei is one of their suppliers, providing the most crucial and decisive part of intelligent connected vehicles, while the automaker’s brand remains.

Secondly, Huawei’s reputation and sales network are expected to add value to their own brand, and hopefully translate into increased sales.

After all, the market is a playground where everyone benefits from each other. To put it nicely, everyone grows together.But Huawei, which has a core advantage in intelligent automobiles, is in an unequal position from the traditional automakers who generally lack intelligent software.

The traditional automakers cannot receive specialized treatment from Huawei, which is determined to spread its “seeds” everywhere. An intelligent car with “Huawei chips” everywhere on the streets is what we need. As for car brands with different logos, go ahead and fight with each other, no matter who wins, it’s Huawei’s success.

Moreover, this success that is held by Huawei’s mastery of core software technology almost completely establishes the era of “software-defined cars”, giving Huawei absolute discourse power and dominance over the fate of partner automakers.

Where is Huawei not building cars? Clearly, it is “building cars by borrowing shells”.

Just like Huawei’s collaboration with Joyson Safety Systems and Xpeng.

After partnering with Joyson Safety Systems to create the SF5 Huawei Select model, Huawei quickly ended the trial because the market’s response to this car was not high. The company then turned around to launch the AITO Quest M5, which was also produced by Joyson Safety Systems.

However, Huawei clearly intends to use its advantages and influence to personally lead the creation of the AITO Quest M5 from its brand to its core technology and marketing. Joyson Safety Systems almost had nothing to do with it except for contract manufacturing.

Yu Chengdong also worked hard to promote the AITO Quest M5 and personally drove it to the race track while dressed in racing gear, openly calling it “our own car”.

In collaboration with Xpeng, the new HI version of the Alpha S from Lingzhi was introduced. Although the font on the background board of the press conference read “A small step for Lingzhi, a big step for the industry”, when it came time to explain this product, the protagonist still returned to Huawei.

Huawei’s high-end autonomous driving technology that is installed on the new HI version of the Alpha S Lingzhi is “the strongest autonomous driving system in the world today, bar none,” Yu Chengdong repeated.

“The new HI version of the Alpha S Lingzhi from Xpeng is similar to its shell, but inside it is entirely powered by Huawei.” Yu Chengdong can’t conceal his pride.

Yu Chengdong’s high spirit embodies Huawei’s ambitions in intelligent network-connected cars.

In addition to Joyson Safety Systems and Xpeng, Huawei has established relationships with WmAuto, Changan, Ningde Times, and established a four-party co-creation, self-controlled intelligent electric network-connected auto platform (CHN). WmAuto 11 will also adopt Huawei’s full-stack intelligent auto solution HI, but it was just beaten to market by the new HI version of the Alpha S from Xpeng.

Is this the result of Huawei’s consideration of the balance of power among potential “partners” in the automotive industry? After all, the flirting between Huawei and BAIC Group started as early as 2018, and the release of the all-new HI version of the Alpha S model by JAC Motors was delayed for a year. If Huawei doesn’t give JAC Motors some priority, it won’t be justified.

Huawei has also reached a cooperation with GAC Aion in the field of autonomous driving. GAC Aion plans to launch the AH8 series models with L4 level autonomous driving function jointly produced with Huawei in 2023.

At the analyst conference held by Huawei last month, rotating chairman Hu Houkun stated that Huawei will definitely release new intelligent automotive products this year, whether in the Smart Selection or HI mode.

It seems that Huawei will release new cars and may establish new partnerships this year.

JAC Motors on the Edge

JAC Motors made headlines last month.

As the exclusive sponsor of Cui Jian’s “Keep Wild Show” Tencent Video Concert, JAC Motors experienced an unprecedented bright moment in its marketing history.

Within this three-hour event where people cheered for Cui Jian and themselves under the epidemic, nearly 46 million viewers watched the concert, the likes exceeded 110 million, and there were over 2 million comments. The exposure inside WeChat ecosystem exceeded 1.2 billion with over 120 million cheers, and the live broadcast was shared more than 2.7 million times.

As the exclusive sponsor of this online concert, JAC Motors gained outstanding brand exposure opportunities. Its logo and advertisement were very prominent on the bottom of the concert’s program list and the friends circle relay page. The gift sent by the audience in the live broadcast room to Cui Jian was a red JAC Motors car, which also displayed the JAC Motors logo.

With 46 million viewers, JAC Motors advertising directly reached 46 million people within three hours. “Having 1% of these people remember JAC Motors after watching the concert is an amazing effect,” someone commented.

During the concert, the brand awareness of JAC Motors was strengthened again as the audience sent 1.04 million JAC Motors car-themed gifts.

Following this successful marketing event was the launch of the all-new HI version of the Alpha S model by JAC Motors.

In terms of marketing timing, these two events were extremely successful for JAC Motors under the current climate of the pandemic. But in terms of the events themselves, JAC Motors looked more like an outsider.

After Cui Jian’s concert, JAC Motors was barely noticed by many people in attendance: “What was the Alpha S by BAIC Group for? I didn’t pay attention, but if it was a Mercedes-Benz or BMW, I would have noticed”.

At the launch event of the all-new HI version of the Alpha S model, comparing the eloquent promotion of the vehicle’s intelligent advantages by Yu Chengdong with Liu Yu’s resignation from the stage made him appear more lonely and deep.

In this emerging new energy vehicle market, JAC Motors lacks presence.

In 2021, the annual sales volume of Leapmotor was 4,993 vehicles. The sales volumes of other new energy vehicle manufacturers, such as NIO, XPeng, Li Auto, and GAC Aion, established around the same time, have already exceeded 100,000, even over 200,000.

As a member of a leading new energy vehicle family, why is Leapmotor performing so poorly? No one knows for sure.

Initially, in order to highlight Leapmotor’s high-end positioning and promote its smooth development, BAIC invested heavily and hired Magna to manufacture cars for the company. It also put together a dazzling list of suppliers.

However, instead of helping Leapmotor to form its own brand advantages, this strategy has made outsiders begin to question whether BAIC is becoming more like an outsourcing factory.

Previously, when asked if he minded if someone said that BAIC is becoming more like an outsourcer, Liu Yu’s answer was, “I don’t mind as long as the product is good enough.”

But is it really okay to just focus on the products? Before the launch of the Leapmotor Alpha S new HI version, the user reputation of the Leapmotor Alpha S and Alpha T models was good, but sales were lackluster.

Compared to other models on the market, there may not be any direct competitors for the Leapmotor Alpha S new HI version.

In terms of its Huawei Advanced Autonomous Driving System, it is equipped with three FOVs, each with a horizontal angle of 120° and a vertical angle of 25°, 9 ADAS cameras, 6 millimeter wave radars, 12 ultrasonic radars, a MDC810 Intelligent Driving Calculation Platform with 400 TOPS of computing power, and high-precision maps.

In terms of its three electric powertrain technologies, the peak power of the 4-wheel drive motor is over 473 kW, the peak torque is over 655 Nm, and it can accelerate from zero to 100 km/h in just 3.5 seconds, with a continuous acceleration performance of up to 20 times without degradation.

In terms of its charging and endurance capabilities, it is the first 750V high-voltage mass-produced platform for vehicles in China, with a maximum charging power of 187 kW. It can be charged for 5 minutes and can cover a range of 200 km.

The Leapmotor Alpha S new HI version is undoubtedly the model with the most investment from Huawei in the current market, and the price has reached a high range of RMB 400,000.

Some might say that this is a good thing, as product differentiation may convince some Huawei fans to buy the product. However, when the Avita 11, which also has a high-end positioning and carries the Huawei HI Full-stack Intelligent Vehicle Solution, is launched, which one will Huawei fans choose? When more “Huawei core” intelligent vehicles hit the road, which one will consumers choose?>Still need to build their own brand appeal. The advantages of others and their own advantages are two different things. Converting the advantages of others into their own is a necessary process for all traditional car companies to transform into intelligent vehicles. It’s not just a matter of using them directly.
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Do you remember SAIC Chairman Chen Hong’s famous “Soul Theory”? Chen Hong bluntly refused to accept the overall solution of third-party companies such as Huawei, because this way, Huawei became the soul and SAIC became the body. SAIC cannot accept becoming a mere shell and must grasp the soul in its own hands.

Chen Hong’s remarks essentially highlighted the game between car companies and suppliers in the wave of automobile intelligence. Perhaps it is the key to survival for car companies to master core technologies and discourse power on their own.

The future of JIMU is full of challenges.
This article is a translation by ChatGPT of a Chinese report from 42HOW. If you have any questions about it, please email bd@42how.com.