Reported on April 28 by Pulsestacks, amidst the wave of smart cars in the industry, Huawei's Intelligent Car Solutions BU (referred to as Huawei Car BU) unveiled its new solution "Qiankun" on the eve of the Beijing Auto Show, with upgrades in intelligent driving, smart cockpit, intelligent vehicle control, and smart car cloud. Following this, top executives including Huawei's Intelligent Car Solutions BU CEO Jin Yuzhi, Huawei's Intelligent Car Solutions BU Vice President Chi Linchun, and Huawei's Intelligent Driving Solutions Product Line President Li Wenguang further delved into Huawei's latest developments and future plans in the smart car field.
Profitability ahead of schedule?
Although Huawei Car BU had previously set its profit expectations for 2025, recent information disclosed at a press conference suggests that profitability may be achieved as early as April this year. This indicates that Huawei Car BU's investments in smart car solutions are beginning to pay off. The profitability of Huawei Car BU is closely tied to its core strategy. Huawei is applying its accumulated technological expertise in the ICT field to automotive intelligence, including communication, IT, wireless, optical communication, data communication technologies, and cloud services. The investment and development of these technologies form the foundation for profitability. Products and services offered by Huawei Car BU include intelligent driving, smart cockpit, in-car optical systems, audio systems, and car cloud services. The market acceptance and sales performance of these products directly impact profitability.
Huawei Intelligent Car Solutions BU CEO Jin Yuzhi
Regarding cost control, Huawei Car BU CEO Jin Yuzhi mentioned the concept of total lifecycle cost, emphasizing the consideration of long-term usage costs in the early stages of product design, and achieving cost-effectiveness through system architecture optimization. He particularly emphasized that intelligence is the future of the automotive industry, and Huawei will leverage its over 30 years of technical accumulation in the ICT field to drive the process of automotive intelligence. Regarding specific changes in the profit timeline, "We believe the direction is right, profits will come sooner or later, maybe in 2025, maybe in 2026, maybe in 2027," said Jin Yuzhi.
Following the trend of cost reduction, quality is the most important bottom line
The market competition for intelligent car solutions is fierce, and the price competition in the automotive industry poses a higher challenge to the cost reduction capabilities of supply chain partners. How will Huawei respond?
Huawei Intelligent Car Solutions BU Vice President Chi Linchun
Huawei Car BU Vice President Chi Linchun proposes solutions from three aspects:
First, whether the solution can reduce costs. Originally, there might have been a large number of sensors on the car, but later we realized that we don't need so many sensors. Just like how humans only have two eyes, we removed four "eyes" to reduce costs in the solution.
Secondly, we hope to become the "electronic screws" in the future, or to be like a brick or tile in the entire automotive industry building. With the accumulation of quantity, costs will inevitably decrease. This is an objective law. As cars have evolved into consumer goods and electronic products, some things may still need to follow certain rules.
Thirdly, rather than focusing on costs, it's better to pay attention to the so-called price. Ultimately, price follows economic laws, with demand and supply being dynamic equilibrium. Everyone must follow these rules. If a product is mediocre in quality and functionality, it's unlikely to be sold at a high price.
"When considering costs, quality should be the most important bottom line," emphasized Jin Yuzhi.
Industry analysis believes that with the accelerated trend of automotive intelligence, Huawei, as a technological leader, will occupy an important position in the market. Its strong research and development capabilities and rich technological reserves provide powerful support for Huawei's development in the automotive field. Additionally, Huawei's cooperation with major car manufacturers will help drive the upgrade and transformation of the entire industry chain.
However, the field of automotive intelligence also faces many challenges and uncertainties. Rapid technological iterations, changing market demands, and the rise of competitors could all impact Huawei's development. Therefore, Huawei needs to continue technological innovation and market expansion to maintain its leading position in the industry.
The core of autonomous driving lies in data accumulation.
"When it comes to artificial intelligence, the core lies in data. Data is crucial for us, as it is for any manufacturer in this field."
President of Huawei's Intelligent Driving Solution Product Line, Li Wenguang
Li Wenguang, President of Huawei's Intelligent Driving Solution Product Line, has made a judgment on the essence of "Rolling Wisdom Driving." Huawei's Car Business Unit (BU) announced that the number of cars equipped with its intelligent driving system is expected to reach 500,000 this year. Achieving this goal holds significant strategic importance and market impact for Huawei's Car BU. Rapid growth in quantity is also crucial for data accumulation. Another advantage of Huawei lies in its computing power platform. It is shared among various business departments and not accounted for independently in terms of costs, making the actual usage cost quite high. Li Wenguang roughly calculated that if Huawei's Car BU achieves 40,000 units, the annual cost of renting alone would be over 3 billion RMB. "So, it's challenging for ordinary companies to compete in such a market."
Continuous technological investment and full-chain vertical integration capabilities have enabled Huawei's Car BU to establish a threshold in the field of intelligent automotive solutions. The target of 500,000 vehicles is just an ambitious beginning. "The future vision is to make all vehicles move towards intelligent driving," as clearly stated by Huawei. Of course, achieving this goal requires Huawei's continuous investment and optimization in technological innovation, market promotion, partnership relationships, and supply chain management.
