Huawei’s Smart Car Solution Business Units saw a number of personnel adjustments recently. Wang Jun, COO of the business unit and president of the intelligent driving solution product line has been suspended, according to Chinese media outlet HiEV.
This move is only half a month after Wang Jun’s latest public appearance. On January 14, Huawei-backed EV firm Avatr held a user meeting for the limited edition model 011 in Shanghai, and Wang appeared on the scene as a partner and vehicle owner. Many Huawei insiders believe that Wang’s work change is related to the poor progress of the HI mode and auto parts business after Richard Yu entered the Smart Car Solution Business Unit.
Huawei’s HI mode has launched two EV models at present – ARCFOX Alpha S HI and Avatr 11. The price of the ARCFOX Alpha S HI equipped with Huawei’s advanced driving system is about 100,000 yuan ($14,747) higher than that of the Alpha S. In the second half of last year, Alpha S sold just less than a thousand units per month, while the sales volume of the ARCFOX Alpha S HI was much lower than that. The Avatr 11 just started delivery at the end of December 2022.
“The earliest structure of the business unit is set by Huawei Rotating Chairman Eric Xu, benchmarking Bosch and providing auto parts,” a former Huawei engineer said. After the direction was determined, Huawei transferred Wang Jun, who was in charge of the operator sector at that time, from Japan to take charge of the unit.
The HI mode, which packages the systems including intelligent driving and intelligent cabin, is an enhanced version of an auto parts supplier. Three car companies, namely ARCFOX, Avatr and GAC, have decided to use the mode.
However, in April 2021, Yu became CEO of the business unit, and Wang Jun was transferred to COO and president of the intelligent driving solution product line. The Smart Selection mode was later introduced by Huawei, and AITO M5 and M7 models were unveiled.
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By the end of 2022, AITO has sold more than 75,000 cars, and the cheapest M5 sells for more than 250,000 yuan. At the initial stage, because the listing cycle of AITO’s models was too fast, it was too late to adopt the advanced driving scheme. AITO’s M9 model, a large luxury SUV, will implement this new technology. Autonomous driving startup DeepRoute.ai is more likely to win orders from Huawei. According to several sources, Yu often commutes to work in DeepRoute.ai’s self-driving car in Shenzhen.
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