SAIC Motor has teamed with Huawei Technologies to develop smart electric vehicles (EVs) under a new brand as China’s largest state-controlled carmaker plots to reverse six years of sliding sales in the world’s biggest auto market.
“The partnership with Huawei is more than a crossover,” SAIC president Jia Jianxu said at a launch event in Shanghai. “The brand will bring a revolutionary change to the existing smart-driving ecosystem.”
According to Chinese media, SAIC and Huawei will first unveil an SUV model starting from 170,000 yuan (US$23,270). They did not reveal a launch date.
SAIC, which has joint ventures with General Motors (GM) and Volkswagen (VW) in mainland China, has deployed 5,000 employees to develop Shangjie vehicles. Huawei would empower the Shangjie vehicles with its latest EV technologies and strict quality control, according to Richard Yu Chengdong, chairman of its consumer business group.
