Huawei to take on Rolls-Royce and Maybach with ultra-luxury EV venture: Reports

Huawei is entering the ultra-luxury automotive market with its fourth joint venture with a Chinese automaker, JAC. Although the venture's official name remains undecided, Yu Chengdong, CEO of Huawei’s Smart Car Solutions, has set ambitious goals for their future products. Speaking to Chinese media outlet QQ, Chengdong revealed that their collaboration aims to surpass established luxury titans like Maybach and Rolls-Royce in terms of luxury and comfort.

Chengdong announced, "Yes, the name of Huawei-JAC has not been decided yet. This may be a million-level car, very high-end. Our benchmark far exceeds the level of Maybach and Rolls-Royce Phantom. It is more luxurious, higher-end, and more comfortable than them."

This ambitious target sets a high bar: an electric car priced approximately around $140,000 that rivals the refinement of the Rolls-Royce Phantom and Mercedes-Maybach S-Class. The first model from this venture is expected to be a spacious, fully electric sedan debuting in the fourth quarter of 2024, positioning itself against flagship models like the BMW i7 and Mercedes-Benz EQS.

The new brand will represent the "fourth realm" of the Harmony Intelligent Mobility Alliance (HIMA) project, sitting above Huawei's existing high-end partnerships: Stelato (with BAIC), Luxeed (with Chery), and AITO (with Seres). These brands target young demographics with high-tech features and practical marketing.

Interestingly, Huawei Technologies had approached Mercedes-Benz and Volkswagen's Audi about purchasing small stakes in its smart car software and components firm, according to a previous report. This initiative aims to expand Huawei's partnerships beyond Chinese brands. Facing U.S. sanctions since 2019, Huawei also hopes that having foreign investors would help shield the business from potential future geopolitical tensions, a Reuter report had stated.

Meanwhile, when asked about principles from the mobile phone industry that could be adapted to the automotive sector, Chengdong emphasised the importance of user experience, satisfaction, product quality, and customer service.

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