Huawei Makes "Soul Theory" Completely "Voiceless"?

Recently, good things keep happening.

Huawei and GAC's new brand "Qijing" has been unveiled; the first model of "Shangjie," a collaboration between Huawei and SAIC, has been released; Dongfeng also met with Huawei executives to deepen communication and cooperation.

To some extent, in the Chinese automotive industry, Huawei seems to have become synonymous with intelligence.

A car with the "Huawei Smart Manufacturing" label seems to have greater market appeal.

It has been proven that over time, the rhetoric of the "soul theory" among car manufacturers has almost vanished, while what has increased is the industry "authority" of Huawei's intelligent driving, validated by the market.

As more and more automotive companies choose to collaborate with Huawei in the field of intelligence, reevaluating Huawei's steadfast principle of "not making cars" and the "soul theory" proposed by former SAIC Chairman Chen Hong, we seem to glimpse where the "lifeline" of the automotive industry lies in the future.

Huawei not making cars may have already anticipated that car companies that "do not understand intelligence" will ultimately become mere "shells." So, does the short-term choice of collectively leaning towards Huawei's intelligent solutions by car companies really mean completely abandoning their "soul"?

Currently, what strategic logic is contained in Huawei's intellectual charm and the stage-specific choices of car companies?

Why is the "theory of the soul" experiencing a "decline"?

Why are car companies no longer afraid of Huawei's intelligence capabilities overshadowing them?

In fact, the ebb of the "soul theory" is not a compromise by car companies, but rather the inevitable result of the paradigm shift in the smart car industry from "mechanical definition" to "software and experience definition."

When autonomous driving becomes a core value element, self-development and technological cooperation are no longer optional but a matter of survival.

The essence of the "soul theory" is a violent collision between the "vehicle integration" mindset of the traditional automotive industry era and the "technology ecosystem" mindset of the intelligent era.

In the era of fuel vehicles, the "soul" of automakers is reflected in their capabilities in engine, transmission, and chassis tuning, which represent their core barriers built over a century of accumulation.

Therefore, when Huawei proposed to offer a full-stack solution including intelligent cockpit and intelligent driving, the instinctive reaction of traditional car manufacturers was to be wary: this could lead to the hollowing out of their core capabilities, thus turning them into "shells."

However, the changes in market rules are beyond imagination.

Electric vehicleThe focus of competition has quickly shifted from the "fundamentals" of the three-electric system to the "ceiling" competition in smart driving, user experience, and iteration speed.

The development of intelligent driving follows the logic of software iteration, emphasizing "small steps, rapid progress, and continuous iteration." Technology companies like Huawei, with their deep expertise in software engineering, AI algorithms, and chip design, can optimize the intelligent driving experience on a monthly or even weekly basis. This speed advantage is something that most car companies find difficult to match with internal R&D.

Waiting means falling behind.

In addition, the weight of factors influencing consumers' car purchasing decisions has fundamentally changed. While the quality of a vehicle's chassis remains important, the ability to achieve "almost zero intervention" in urban driving and whether the car's infotainment system is as smooth and intelligent as a smartphone have become more decisive selling points in the high-end market.

The success of the AITO M5/M7 largely stems not from a revolutionary change in its mechanical quality, but from Huawei's differentiated advantage in the smart experience, directly addressing the pain points of contemporary consumers.

"The significance of the 'Theory of the Soul' will not disappear completely."

The silence of "soul theory" is a rational choice made by car companies in the face of harsh market realities.

When "surviving" and "living well" become the top priorities, the traditional obsession with "full-stack self-research" is no longer appropriate. The paradigm of the industry has shifted, and the definition of "soul" is moving from the manufacturing workshop to code algorithms.

However, this does not mean that automakers are collectively "surrendering" to Huawei's intelligent capabilities.

The current wave of cooperation may be phase-based and strategic, rather than a final form. In the long-term strategy of automotive companies, the autonomy to master core intelligent technologies remains the crucial "soul" of their endeavors.

For car companies, their collaboration with Huawei is a rational game during the paradigm shift transition period.

This is a strategy of "trading space for time"—exchanging partial short-term technological leadership space for crucial market windows and R&D learning time.

Their ultimate goal is not to permanently give up their "soul," but to redefine and forge their own "new soul" that adapts to the intelligent electric era after making a daring leap with the help of external forces.

For Huawei, "not making cars" is a wise strategy.

This positioning allows it to surpass the role of a traditional Tier 1 supplier and become an "ecosystem-level" enterprise. It avoids direct competition with all customers, maximizes the penetration of its technology throughout the industry at a lower cost and risk, and gains the authority to define industry standards.

The future of the automotive industry is unlikely to be a binary "battle of the souls"; instead, it is likely to evolve into a complex landscape of multiple ecosystem models—full-stack independent development, deep collaboration, and multi-party supply coexisting. Huawei has initiated this transformation, but the final chapter of the story will still be written by all participants through ongoing competition driven by both market and technology.