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| Huawei hopes to produce electric cars later this year |
Reuters reported that Chinese company Huawei plans to produce electric cars under its own brand and may launch some models this year as the world's largest telecom equipment maker investigates strategic changes under US sanctions.
The company is negotiating with state-owned Changan Automobile and other auto manufacturers to use auto factories to make electric cars.
Huawei is also negotiating with the Beijing-backed BluePark New Energy Technology of BAIC to manufacture their electric vehicles.
The plan heralds a major change in Huawei's leadership as US sanctions over the past two years have prevented Huawei from entering the major supply chain and forced it to sell part of its smartphone business to keep the brand alive.
A Huawei spokesperson has denied that the company plans to design electric cars or produce Huawei-branded cars.
The spokesperson said: Huawei is not a car maker, but through information and communication technology, our goal is to become a digital car provider and supplier of new additive components so that automakers can make better cars.
Reuters said: Huawei has started developing electric cars in-house and is communicating with suppliers to officially launch the project earlier this year.
Richard Yu, head of consumer business at Huawei, aims to shift the company's focus to electric vehicles and address a large portion of the market.
While Beijing has been actively promoting green compounds to combat air pollution in the long term, Chinese technology companies are focusing on the world's largest market for these vehicles.
By 2025, sales of new energy vehicles, including battery electric vehicles, plug-in hybrid vehicles and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, are expected to account for about 20% of total annual vehicle sales in China.
Industry forecasts show that sales of new cars in China have reached 1.8 million this year, more than 1.3 million in 2020.
Huawei's ambitious plan is to build its own cars as it joins a group of Asian tech companies that have made similar statements in recent months, including Baidu and Foxconn.
Complex new US semiconductor restrictions on Huawei are slowly choking it. Therefore, it stands to reason that the company should focus on industries that are less chip-intensive for continued operations.
Huawei has been developing electric vehicle technology for many years, including in-vehicle software systems, in-vehicle sensors, and 5G communication devices.
The company has also partnered with automakers such as Daimler and General Motors to jointly develop smart car technology.
Since 2018, Huawei has rapidly recruited automotive technical engineers and obtained no fewer than four patents for electric vehicles, including charging methods between electric cars and battery health checks.
Currently, Huawei's entry into the electric vehicle market is separate from United Smart Car, which was jointly founded with Changan Automobile and CATL, which manufactured the batteries in November.