In May, Huawei partnered with 18 Chinese automakers on 5G applications for cars, including FAW Group, Chang’an Automobile Co. Ltd., SAIC Motor Co. Ltd., BAIC Group and BYD Auto Co. Ltd.
As of September, more than 150 models produced by 20 automakers adopted Huawei’s HiCar smart cockpit platform, which is similar to Apple’s CarPlay and Google’s Android Auto, the company said. The number of models will exceed 500 by 2021, Huawei said.
Project N61
Huawei is moving toward car building in a partnership with BAIC BluePark New Energy Technology Co. Ltd, the electric-car unit of BAIC Group. The first model co-developed by the two companies is called the N61. A prototype of the car is set to start road tests in late 2020 and hit the market in the last quarter of 2021.
Liu Yu, general manager of BAIC BluePark, said the N61 fully adopted Huawei’s software and hardware solutions for smart cars and can operate in Level 4 autonomy, meaning conditionally full self-driving.