(In paragraph 5, corrects brand name to .. Epicland ..not.. Aistaland)
BEIJING, April 23 (Reuters) – Huawei will ramp up investment in smart-driving research and development, including more than $10 billion over the next five years to boost computing power for training, a senior executive said on Thursday.
The Chinese tech giant will invest 18 billion yuan ($2.6 billion) globally in smart-driving R&D this year, including 10 billion yuan on computing power, Jin Yuzhi, Huawei’s senior vice president, said at an event in Beijing ahead of China’s largest auto show, which opens on Friday.
Huawei is defending its lead after emerging over the past four years as a key supplier in China’s smart EV sector, driven by technologies increasingly favoured by affluent Chinese consumers over German-engineered alternatives.
A total of 38 vehicle models equipped with Huawei’s smart driving and intelligent cockpit technologies were showcased at the event on Thursday, including four Audi models and Toyota’s BZ7 developed with Guangzhou Automobile.
Huawei also unveiled its Qiankun ADS advanced driver-assistance system, which will debut in the flagship X9 six-seater SUV under the Epicland brand, co-developed with Dongfeng Motor.
Chinese automakers are increasingly partnering with Huawei to lift car sales and improve factory utilisation, following its success in reviving Seres with the 2021 launch of the Aito brand.
Aito has since outpaced legacy German automakers including BMW, Mercedes-Benz, and Audi in China’s market for all fuel-type vehicles priced above 500,000 yuan ($72,500) in both 2024 and 2025, data from Shanghai-based research firm ThinkerCar shows.
“More Chinese car owners are replacing their German premium cars with domestic brands like Aito, Zeekr, and Li Auto,” said Yale Zhang, managing director of consultancy Automotive Foresight.
“Now Chinese brands are being sold at even higher prices, dispelling perceptions that they cater only to bargain-seekers,” he added.
While automotive sales make up a relatively small part of Huawei’s portfolio, which includes telecommunications, smartphones, and cloud computing, it remains the company’s fastest-growing segment.
Automotive-related revenue jumped 72% in 2025 to 45 billion yuan ($6.5 billion), helping lift overall revenue 2.2% to 880.9 billion yuan.
($1 = 6.8346 Chinese yuan renminbi)
(Reporting by Zhang Yan and Florence Lo. Editing by Sharon Singleton and Mark Potter)
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