Author: Michelin

Can Huawei, which doesn’t make cars, really delve into the car-making industry?

Perhaps the AITO AITO M5 that was just released can provide an answer.

The AITO AITO M5 is the second collaboration between Huawei and Seres, and the first car of the AITO brand. While the previous Seres SF5 only scratched the surface of Huawei’s involvement in smart cars, the AITO M5 has definitely gone much deeper.

Although the Huawei logo doesn’t appear on the body of the AITO AITO M5, the electric motor, electric drive system, Huawei sound system, intelligent driving, and HarmonyOS cockpit all have Huawei’s support, and you can even see the large “HUAWEI” logo on the fast charging post.

At the launch event, Yu Chengdong said that Huawei was deeply involved in the industrial design of this car. I wonder if friends familiar with Huawei could recognize the design language of other Huawei products from this car?

What makes the AITO brand’s restart different?

Let’s first take a look at the basic information of the vehicle.

The AITO AITO M5 is 4770mm long, 1930mm wide, 1625mm high, and has a wheelbase of 2880mm, with 20-inch sail-shaped all-aluminum wheels and a super-low 0.32 Cd aerodynamic drag.

The interior adopts a simple design style, with a 10.4-inch curved full LCD instrument panel, a 15.6-inch HDR smart central control screen, and a seamless panoramic sunroof.

As a medium-sized plug-in hybrid SUV, and another Seres-Huawei Intelligent Choice collaboration model, the AITO AITO M5 has almost the same body size as the previous Seres SF5, except that the M5’s body length and wheelbase are slightly longer by a few centimeters. One of the biggest differences between the two is that the AITO M5 is equipped with the new generation DriveONE pure electric drive range-extender platform.Compared with the previous generation electric drive extender platform, the new platform is equipped with a 1.5T four-cylinder extender 3.0, which adopts Miller cycle technology and can achieve a compression ratio of 15:1 and a thermal efficiency of 41%. This level is basically on par with the peak thermal efficiency level of Toyota THS-II and Honda i-MMD, which are currently in mass production, and can achieve 3.2 degrees of electricity per liter of fuel. In combination with an oil-cooled permanent magnet synchronous motor and a 40 kWh power battery, it can achieve a CLTC mode range of 1242 km under full fuel and full battery conditions.

Similar to SF5, the WENJIE M5 also adopts a dual-motor mode, with a front asynchronous AC motor + rear permanent magnet synchronous motor. The intelligent four-wheel drive combination has a peak power of 365 kW and accelerates to 100 km/h in 4.4 seconds. The all-aluminum alloy chassis adopts front double-wishbone and rear multi-link independent suspension, reducing the weight under the spring by 30%. At the same time, the aluminum alloy material also gives the suspension stronger toughness under extreme conditions, balancing the handling and sport performance.

The range-extender mode that can use both gasoline and electricity indeed solves the problem of mileage anxiety and range in cold environments. If we look at the numbers alone, this range is not only superior to electric vehicles, but also higher than traditional fuel vehicles. However, this conversion range comparison method seems a bit familiar?

HarmonyOS cockpit, the last ring of AIoT

Of course, as a car with “Huawei DNA”, the HarmonyOS system is definitely the most noteworthy part.At the Huawei Ecosystem Developer Conference one month ago, a sneak peek of the HarmonyOS interface was revealed through an image of the first AITO smart cockpit equipped with the new HarmonyOS.

Similar to smartphones and tablets, the AITO M5 adopts a card-style Smart Dock shortcut bar that allows users to customize the dock bar and quick tip window according to their usage habits. This allows users to set commonly used functions such as navigation, music, and vehicle status in convenient locations, while also allowing users to adjust card size and order.

Through the split-screen function of the car’s intelligent screen, users can slide three fingers to split the center console screen left and right, switch split-screen positions, and switch to full screen, meeting different scenarios’ needs. As another highlight of the HarmonyOS, the M5 cockpit also supports seamless transfer between different devices, such as vehicle infotainment systems, smartphones, and smartwatches.

During HDC2021, we experienced the seamless transfer and split-screen functions of the HarmonyOS cockpit in the demo booth, without interruption or lag; the operation was very smooth.

The AITO M5 cockpit uses the intelligent voice assistant Xiao Yi, which supports basic voice capabilities such as 60-second continuous conversation, four-tone zone interaction, convenient insertion, and dialects. For situations such as noisy children in the back seat, it also supports rear audio areas’ shielding function. At the same time, it provides visible and audible car control abilities visible and audible in areas where there is no signal, such as underground parking lots, to control the vehicle. As for the ecosystem level, we must wait for the actual in-car experience to determine whether voice capabilities extend to third-party applications and whether visible and audible control is still available when third-party applications are open.

In terms of map navigation, the AITO M5’s new car map is provided by Huawei Petal Maps, supporting seamless transfer between smartphone and vehicle infotainment system navigation tasks.

Additionally, a DMS camera is installed on the A-pillar’s interior, which can achieve account login, information isolation, fatigue detection, and other functions through 3D face recognition technology. After inputting the owner’s information, the camera can automatically detect the driver’s identity, log in to the owner’s account, and call up commonly used navigation locations and recommended music.

Certainly, not everyone is willing to accept such proactive services, some colleagues in the GeekCar office have expressed their concerns over privacy.

Therefore, at the launch event, Yu Chengdong emphasized that the DMS camera will not record data and can be manually turned off in the system settings, similar to the privacy settings on a mobile phone, with the ability to set different application camera access permissions. In today’s context of controversies surrounding automotive data privacy and security, this setting indeed avoids unnecessary troubles.

Also, the cabin of the WEY M5 is equipped with the HUAWEI SOUND audio system featuring a 19-unit acoustic design and 7.1 surround sound, capable of achieving low-frequency dive to 30Hz and a stunning bass effect of 107dB, and is paired with high-quality multi-channel audiovisual content from HUAWEI Music and HUAWEI Video.

Thanks to its experience in the field of consumer electronics such as smartphones and computers, the WEY M5 cabin is equipped with HUAWEI SuperCharge, which can achieve 40W wireless charging and 66W wired charging, allowing for 60% fast charging for mobile phones in 30 minutes, and 4 hours of usage after 30 minutes of fast charging for laptops. For the GeekCar colleagues who often spend a whole day in the car due to evaluations by the “Intelligent Cabin Intelligence Bureau,” this fast charging feature is indeed poking at the pain point.

Nowadays, it seems that every automaker has joined the AIoT field, and vehicle-home interconnectivity, human-vehicle interconnectivity, and even interconnectivity of all things have become the goals of intelligent automotive development. It must be said that for Huawei, which has its own software and hardware intelligent ecological system, the appearance of AITO WEY M5 does complete the last link in its multi-terminal interconnectivity.

This may be more evident for users of the “Hongmeng Suite”: navigation, music, and video on mobile phones can be seamlessly switched to the vehicle’s central control screen; Huawei smartwatches can be used to check vehicle conditions, remote control the vehicle, location-based unlocking, and car searching, etc.; and the vehicle-mounted intelligent control screen can switch between internal and external perspectives, and video calls with other mobile devices. Hongmeng connects cars, mobile phones, smart watches, and smart homes together.

## “Cautious” Intelligent Driving System

Although Huawei showed its muscles in the field of autonomous driving half a year ago before the Shanghai Auto Show, demonstrating L4 Level unmanned driving technology in urban areas, the AITO WENJIE M5 was still relatively cautious and did not use the high-level driving assistance system previously used in the Extreme Fox Alpha S Hi version, nor did it carry the currently popular LIDAR.

The AITO WENJIE M5 is equipped with an L2+ level intelligent driving assistance system, and the entire car is equipped with 23 sensors (1 CMS camera, 1 DMS camera, 1 DVR camera, 1 visual perception camera, 4 APA cameras, 12 long-range ultrasonic radars, and 3 millimeter-wave radars), providing a full-range perception system, such as lane cruising assistance, driving blind spot warning, front radar warning, lane departure, and automatic parking assistance driving functions.

At the press conference, Yu Chengdong emphasized that “driving assistance” is not “autonomous driving”, so it can be seen that the AITO WENJIE M5 is relatively cautious in terms of its car-mounted intelligent driving level.

In addition, the car’s perception ability is not only used for driving assistance systems, but also connected with the functions inside the cabin. For example, by sensing the ambient light, it can automatically adjust the internal and external circulation when entering and exiting tunnel, providing vehicle interior air quality perception and reminders.

Finally, regarding the price, after comprehensive subsidies, the AITO WENJIE M5 has a pre-sale price of:

• 250,000 yuan for the Rear-Wheel Drive Standard Edition.

• 280,000 yuan for the Four-Wheel Drive Performance Edition.

• 320,000 yuan for the Four-Wheel Drive Flagship Edition.

Perhaps it was the frequent comparison of AITO WENJIE M5 with BBA and Porsche’s competing products at the press conference, or perhaps Yu Chengdong’s repeated use of the terms “luxury” and “million-dollar luxury cars” created a “deceptive effect”, so that it was not until the price was announced that it was discovered that it was targeted at the only new energy competitor presented at the conference – the Tesla Model Y.

Finally

As expected, my circle of friends was overwhelmed with posts after the conference. Friends in the automotive circle expressed that the conference resembled a digital product launch, while more friends debated “whether Huawei is actually manufacturing cars” or not.Think about it, is it important? In the past year, we have seen the birth of many new intelligent car brands. For users, it seems not so important which car enterprise they belong to and who is making the car. What is more important is whether the car can bring better products and experiences and provide stable output. From Seres SF5 to the AITO Wanjie M5, we can see Huawei’s gradual empowerment and improvement in intelligent cars. In the increasingly competitive field of intelligent cars, the Wanjie M5 has won Huawei and Seres a front-row ticket for entering the intelligent car market.

However, life in the market is not easy. AITO Wanjie M5 will start deliveries at the end of February next year. Along with it will be other new forces in the market, such as NIO ET5, ET7, XPeng G9, as well as independent brand new car like IM L7, and traditional brands like Cadillac LYRIQ. Even Xiaomi and Apple cars are eyeing their opportunity to enter the market.

The show has just begun.

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.