In 2025, the collaboration between SAIC Motor and Huawei has finally borne fruit.

On February 21st, SAIC Motor and Huawei Device signed a comprehensive cooperation agreement in Shanghai. The partnership will involve strategic collaboration in product development, manufacturing, supply chain management, sales services, and other areas, aimed at creating cutting-edge smart electric vehicles. This strategic alliance is expected to leverage both parties' strengths and jointly explore new avenues for technological and business model innovation in the smart auto industry.

Wang Xiaoqiu, Chairman of SAIC Motor, and Yu Chengdong, Executive Director of Huawei, Chairman of the Device BG, and Chairman of the Intelligent Automotive Solutions BU, witnessed the signing. Jia Jianxu, President of SAIC Motor, and Wang Yanmin, President of Huawei Device's Intelligent Selection Car Business Department, signed the agreement on behalf of SAIC and Huawei, respectively.

While the announcement itself is concise, it hints at significant developments. Upon reaching out to insiders at SAIC Motor, "Auto Talk" received the response that "everything is subject to the official announcement."

Currently, both parties have not disclosed specific details of their cooperation, such as the brand name, price range, or collaboration model. This underscores the confidentiality surrounding the partnership. Coupled with the announcement's mention of "creating smart car products with global competitiveness" and considering SAIC Motor's export prowess, the market is buzzing with anticipation for this collaboration. Let's delve into the visions and aspirations of both SAIC and Huawei for this partnership.

SAIC Aims to Build Cars that Users Love

Many observers link the SAIC-Huawei partnership to the outdated "soul theory," but in the new energy era, the concept of a soul no longer holds sway. The key to success lies in consistently creating vehicles that consumers adore, and SAIC is acutely aware of this fact.

This philosophy is also evident in the thinking of SAIC's new leadership team.

Wang Xiaoqiu, the new Chairman of SAIC Motor, and Jia Jianxu, the new President, are actively promoting an open mindset across the entire SAIC Group, encouraging the company to humbly learn from the strengths of others. This embodies the principle of "being humble in person but high-profile in action."

The current collaboration with Huawei underscores SAIC's resolve to reclaim its pinnacle position. Partnering with Huawei can swiftly propel SAIC into the top tier of new energy players, enabling it to avoid numerous detours. In the new automotive era, time is the most precious commodity. The shorter the time between new strategies and product launches, the faster a company can capture market share.

This trend is evident in other domestic auto brands. For instance, Geely embarked on its new energy transition early and now boasts a comprehensive product line, successfully targeting younger consumers and achieving rising sales. BYD has long been clear about its new energy and price advantages, and the brand is now performing robustly, becoming the undisputed leader in the domestic new energy market. Although Chery has been known as the "engineer's car," its product strength has significantly improved in recent years, particularly in new energy models. The Fengyun series is thriving, and Chery's market share in new energy vehicles is impressive.

Therefore, SAIC's primary task is to race against time. Since October 2024, SAIC has undergone internal changes and adjustments, adopting the slogan "SAIC excels in everything it does" and establishing the SAIC "large passenger vehicle sector." The focus is on resource integration and concentration, with in-depth brand integration and more focused and centralized backend research and development to optimize efficiency.

Collaborating with Huawei can quickly close the gap with other brands and even surpass them, accelerating the adoption of new energy technologies in vehicles. This will significantly enhance SAIC's brand power and sales.

However, SAIC must also carefully consider the pricing of models in collaboration with Huawei. After all, SAIC still has mid-to-high-end brands such as Roewe, MG, and Feifan, as well as high-end brands like IM Motors. Minimizing the impact of new brands on SAIC's internal operations will be a pressing issue for the SAIC Group.

Huawei Also Needs SAIC

Currently, Huawei's HarmonyOS Smart Mobility Intelligent Selection Car model has collaborated with four automakers: Thalys, Chery, BAIC BluePark, and JAC Motors, successively launching four brands: AITO, AITO Smart, AITO Enjoy, and AITO Premium. This has successfully turned Thalys profitable and brought reputation and growth to the other three automakers. Many automakers envy this success and aspire to join Huawei's ecosystem.

However, Huawei also faces its own challenges. As more brands join, internal competition within the Huawei ecosystem has intensified.

Currently, the price range of HarmonyOS Smart Mobility covers the market from 230,000 to 1 million yuan. In 2024, HarmonyOS Smart Mobility delivered 445,000 new vehicles. Among them, AITO M9 exceeded 200,000 cumulative orders, and the AITO new M7 delivered 197,000 vehicles annually. The AITO brand supported most of HarmonyOS Smart Mobility's sales, while the AITO Smart S7 and AITO Enjoy S9 sedans performed less impressively.

Entering 2025, the launch of the extended-range AITO Smart R7 has severely impacted the sales of the AITO M5. Data shows that the sales volume of the AITO Smart R7 climbed to 11,422 units in January, while the similarly priced AITO new M5 sold only 910 units in the same month.

Therefore, Huawei also needs new incremental markets, and it is imperative to launch models in the 150,000-200,000 yuan range.

However, in response to whether models priced below 200,000 yuan would be launched, Yu Chengdong, Executive Director, Chairman of the Device BG, and Chairman of the Intelligent Automotive Solutions BU, previously stated, "If we do it now, we will lose money because we don't have that capability yet."

Now, the addition of SAIC Motor can help HarmonyOS Smart Mobility complete the crucial "puzzle piece" of products priced below 200,000 yuan. SAIC Motor's robust system capability can fully compensate for Huawei's current limitations.

As a domestic automotive enterprise with a high level of compliance, internationalization, and standardization, SAIC Motor's collaboration with Volkswagen Group's SAIC Volkswagen has set an industry benchmark. Therefore, the partnership between SAIC and Huawei will bypass many preliminary quality compliance issues. Previous collaborations between Huawei and Chery's AITO Smart encountered subsequent problems due to break-in issues. Thus, even when building low-priced models, there is no need to worry that SAIC will tarnish Huawei's reputation.

SAIC's involvement can ensure the quality and quantity of HarmonyOS Smart Mobility's full product line, continuously expanding and consolidating Huawei's influence in the automotive industry. This is the outcome that Huawei, as a non-automaker, most desires to see.

Meanwhile, the announcement's mention of creating "smart car products with global competitiveness" also reveals Huawei's ambition to go global. Currently, Huawei is already a top player in the domestic market, but most of its collaborations are with domestic brands. Many international brands remain hesitant to collaborate with it. Choosing SAIC Motor, with its strong export capabilities, can help Huawei better explore the international market and truly showcase its advanced product strengths on the global stage.

Judging from last year's automaker export rankings, Chery Automobile and SAIC Motor are ahead of the pack, with exports of 1.144 million and 929,000 units, respectively, ranking first and second. SAIC achieved this despite EU suppression. Previously, SAIC had been the domestic automaker with the highest exports for eight consecutive years, demonstrating its influence in overseas markets.

From both parties' perspectives, the collaboration between SAIC and Huawei can fully achieve a synergistic 1+1>2 effect. For both, it can not only drive reputation and sales but also enhance the influence of Chinese automotive brands in the international market. On a deeper level, this partnership promotes the competitiveness of the Chinese automotive industry through complementary advantages, which is good news for the entire sector.