SAIC Motor Corporation Limited (SAIC Motor for short) signed a strategic cooperative agreement with Huawei Technologies Co (Huawei for short) on Dec 21, 2018, a further step in their cooperation after they announced their joint promotion of 5G Internet of Vehicles technologies last year. The two sides will work together to build a smart mobility system providing personalized and luxury mobility services, and push forward the R&D and applications of intelligent drive technologies based on the vehicle information transmission network of the CAN (Controller Area Network) and the Ethernet network. In the meantime, they will conduct overall and proactive cooperation in intelligent electric vehicles, smart manufacturing and information applications, as well as cyber security.

The two industry leaders’ collaboration will drive the breakthroughs of independent core technologies in the domestic auto and information & communications industries.

Smart mobility and the next-generation Internet of Vehicles

SAIC Motor is currently dedicated to developing comprehensive mobility services. Its Global Car Sharing and Rental Co has become the world’s largest company specializing in new-energy-vehicle sharing and rental businesses, with 42,000 licensed cars operating in 13,000 outlets and one order handled every second on average. SAIC Motor has also launched the Xiangdao Chuxing mobility service platform to explore the online car-hailing market, and integrated time-share car rentals and other car rental businesses in a bid to build a smart mobility platform. This June, the company established the first AI lab in the auto industry, facilitating its innovative businesses such as the provision of smart mobility services.

With the current cooperation, SAIC Motor and Huawei will work together to promote smart mobility and the next-generation of Internet of Vehicles services, conducting joint R&D in new technologies in Vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communications, intelligence algorithms, and road-side units (RSU). In the meantime, they will jointly test C-V2X technology and demonstrate and verify its applications, and also enhance R&D in vehicle information terminals and related application service platforms, so as to seek a sound solution to all smart mobility services.

In addition, the two sides will also cooperate in the development of hardware and software for intelligent vehicle cockpits, leveraging their own advantages to provide more personalized and luxury services.

Intelligent drive and new energy vehicles

SAIC Motor has been vigorously developing vehicles with an intelligent driving function in recent years, and has been advancing its core independent technologies related to intelligent drive systems and millimeter-wave radar. The two sides will cooperate in the intelligent drive technology and promote its application in China. They will also work together to develop the next generation of electric vehicles.

With its independently-developed core technologies in main auto parts such as the electric drive system, batteries and the electric control system, SAIC Motor has launched over 20 new energy vehicles. It will apply the advanced ICT (Information and Communication Technology) of Huawei in its cars to boost the development of its electric vehicle business.

In addition, the two sides will build up cooperate in smart manufacturing and jointly develop an industrial IoT (Internet of Things) platform and products for the auto industry, including in-vehicle IoT devices and IoT cloud interconnections. They will also work together to develop an information and network safety system, including its software and hardware, emergency response and daily operations.

In the new round of economic development that integrates information technology and the real economy, the auto industry is also undergoing continuous evolution. SAIC Motor will keep working closely with its partners to lead the future of vehicles and generate more value for customers with its innovative technologies, services and products.

A review of the cooperation between SAIC Motor and Huawei

SAIC Motor, China Mobile and Huawei signed a trilateral cooperation framework agreement at the Mobile World Congress in Shanghai on June 28, 2017 to jointly develop the smart mobility and the next-generation C-V2X industry.

Huayu Automotive Systems Co Ltd, a subsidiary of SAIC Motor, signed a strategic agreement with Huawei on May 5, 2017 for cooperation in smart manufacturing, which marked the start of the fourth auto industrial revolution in China.

SAIC Motor and Huawei together had offered a real-car interaction experience to display their joint LTE-V (LTE-Vehicle) based comprehensive communications solution at the Global Mobile Broadband Forum held in Hong Kong from Nov 2 to 5, 2015.