Is The Hope Conference A "Money Tree"?

In the past half month, Huawei has continuously received payments from two automakers.

On the evening of September 29, Seres announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Seres Automotive, had paid the third installment of the equity transfer payment of 3.45 billion yuan to Huawei. Shortly thereafter, Changan Automobile released a "Progress Announcement on External Investments of Joint Ventures," stating that its subsidiary, Avatar, had also paid the third installment of the equity transfer payment of 3.45 billion yuan to Huawei.

As of now, the transaction payments totaling 11.5 billion yuan for the 10% equity stake in Yinwang by the two car companies have been fully settled. The equity penetration chart on the Tianyancha App shows that the current equity structure of Yinwang is: Huawei holds 80%, while Seres and Avita each hold 10%.

According to earlier reports, Huawei plans to retain a 60% controlling stake. This means that 20% of the shares are still open to partner automakers. Everyone is speculating: who will be the next investor?

Who will be the next investor?

For the next investment in a car company, it is widely speculated within the industry that it will most likely come from Huawei's HarmonyOS Intelligent Mobility ecosystem. Apart from the already invested Seres, the candidates include four car companies: SAIC, Chery, JAC, and BAIC.

The aforementioned car manufacturers have established deep cooperative relationships with Huawei: BAIC has launched the Xiangjie brand, Chery has created the Zhijie series, Jianghuai has the high-end brand Zunjie with a million-level positioning, and SAIC Group has introduced the "most cost-effective Hongmeng brand" called Shangjie this year.

Image source: HarmonyOS Smart Travel

Through the HarmonyOS intelligent driving model, five car manufacturers have already formed synergy with Huawei in product definition, channel sales, and other aspects. The investment is expected to further strengthen the security of the technology supply chain and decision-making power, aligning with the ecological logic of "shared benefits."

In the entire automotive industry, Huawei's partners are not limited to the HarmonyOS Intelligent Drive model. It has also collaborated with multiple car companies such as Avatr, Voyah, and GAC through its component model and HI model. Huawei has also publicly invited state-owned car companies like FAW to invest in Inov, aiming to expand the breadth of cooperation. FAW has strong capital and policy resources, and if it invests, it could enhance Inov's influence in the northern market and the field of high-end manufacturing.

From Huawei's perspective, prioritizing existing deep partners for equity investment is a natural move. Huawei has always emphasized that its positioning is as an "open intelligent platform." In terms of cooperation depth, compatibility, and potential value, members of the Harmony OS Intelligent Driving ecosystem are Huawei's preferred invitees.

The analysis by Gasgoo Auto Research Institute indicates that the nature of the investment in Invo is "a long-term joint development with real financial commitment," rather than a mere financial investment. Huawei's Deputy Chairman and Rotating Chairman, Xu Zhijun, recently stated, "The targets for Invo's investment must be automakers, and they must jointly bear risks and share benefits." This means that the investors not only need to have sufficient financial strength but also need to form substantial business synergies with Invo.

For automakers, investing in Jiangwang can provide preferential access to Huawei's core intelligent technologies and help them gain a first-mover advantage in the increasingly competitive smart vehicle sector. However, the reality is harsh. Despite the promising outlook for Jiangwang, the identity of the third automaker to invest remains unclear due to the high investment threshold.

According to disclosed information, Yinwang's valuation reaches 115 billion RMB. Some institutions even believe that the valuation is still low, considering that Yinwang's demonstrated technological barriers and profit potential far exceed those of traditional Tier 1 suppliers. Huawei's impressive performance in the automotive market has made Yinwang an extremely attractive "scarce asset" in the automotive industry chain.

A 10% equity stake corresponds to 11.5 billion yuan in cash, which poses a significant financial burden for most car companies. For example, let's consider the performance of the two major car companies that acquired stakes: Changan Automobile's net profit for 2024 is 7.3 billion yuan, and Seres' net profit for the same period is about 6 billion yuan. Both companies' investments in the acquisition exceed their annual net profit levels. Not all car companies can or are willing to bear the burden of raising funds in the hundreds of billions in a short period.

Huawei Car BU Cooperating Models

The profitability status of some potential candidate car companies further complicates decision-making. For example, JAC Motors has been operating at a loss in 2024 and even in the first half of this year, while its transition to new energy has not yet achieved scale effects. Although SAIC Motor Corporation is large in size, its net profit is significantly pressured by the decline in fuel vehicle sales. Faced with investments on the scale of billions, car companies need to weigh short-term financial pressures against long-term strategic benefits.

In contrast, automotive companies have various alternative options: developing their own assisted driving technologies (such as Tesla, NIO, Xpeng, etc.) to reduce costs; collaborating with multiple suppliers to diversify risks (such as SAIC's partnerships with Horizon Robotics and Momenta); or directly investing in or acquiring startup intelligent technology companies (such as GAC, Chery, and Great Wall investing in Horizon Robotics, and Great Wall incubating Haomo Zhixing). The costs of choosing these paths may be significantly lower than investing in leading firms.

For this reason, the premise of automakers "betting" on Avatr still requires a comprehensive consideration of their own strategic priorities and financial strength. There is also another possibility that the next investor may still be Changan Automobile. Changan Automobile's Chairman Zhu Huarong once revealed that Huawei has reserved a 20% stake in Avatr for Changan Automobile, stating that "in the future, arrangements will be made for the additional 10% stake reserved in Avatr based on the situation."

What exactly is the business of Yiwang?

With Avita and Seres completing their investments one after another, this company, which was established less than two years ago, has once again attracted attention. So, what businesses does this company, valued at over 100 billion, actually include? What are its organizational structure and operational model like?

Yinwang, fully known as Shenzhen Yinwang Intelligent Technology Co., Ltd., was established in early 2024. It operates independently after Huawei integrated its former Intelligent Automotive Solution Business Unit (referred to as the Car BU department) into it.

Xu Zhijun pointed out that the goal of Yingwang is to become an "open platform for electrification and intelligence jointly participated in by the automotive industry." This means that Yingwang is both a technology provider and a connector of the industrial ecosystem, taking on Huawei's smart automotive component business aside from Hongmeng Zhixing. As a result, Huawei has formed a dual-line parallel structure in its automotive business—"Hongmeng Zhixing" targeting the vehicle end, and "Yingwang" targeting the technology end.

Image Source: HarmonyOS Intelligent Travel

To clarify business boundaries, Huawei has divided its organizational structure. The auto business unit (BU) is led by Huawei's senior executive Jin Yuzhi as CEO, who is fully responsible for technical research and development and commercial operations. Meanwhile, the HarmonyOS intelligent industry business remains under Huawei's Consumer Business Group (BG), led by Huawei's Executive Director and Consumer BG Chairman Richard Yu, focusing on product definition and channel development.

From organizational structure to business signing and external promotion, the two parties have formed a clear distinction. This reflects Huawei's strategic layout of "parallel technology supply and ecological operation" in the automotive field.

Yinwang's business system is built around the intelligent domain, showcasing full-stack technical capabilities. In the area of assisted driving, its Qiankun system achieves full-link coverage from chips, hardware to algorithms, and the cloud. The intelligent cockpit is centered on the HarmonyOS, building a cross-terminal interactive experience. The intelligent vehicle control covers key technologies such as chassis control and power domain management.

The core advantage of Yingwang lies in its full-stack self-research capabilities. Unlike traditional Tier 1 companies that rely on external technology integration, Yingwang has full control over chips, hardware, operating systems, algorithm platforms, and cloud training, forming a vertically integrated technical system. This vertical integration capability and the hardware-software collaborative R&D model make Yingwang's solutions more competitive in terms of performance and integration.

In terms of the scope of cooperation, Yinwang has become an important part of the domestic smart car supply chain. Currently, more than 20 car brands have collaborated with Yinwang.

Huawei's cooperation with car manufacturers takes various forms, including component supply models, full-stack solution models (HI mode), and innovative advanced HI modes. The former is akin to a traditional Tier 1 supplier, providing individual components such as LiDAR and assisted driving computing platforms to car manufacturers. The latter is more in-depth, involving joint definition of the intelligent architecture of the entire vehicle with car manufacturers. Some models of BAIC Arcfox and Changan Avatr adopt this mode.

Feng Xingya (first from left), Liu Jiaming (center), Xu Zhijun (first from right); Image source: GAC Group

The "advanced version" of the HI model involves a completely new brand and a full-process collaboration. However, unlike the HarmonyOS Smart Travel, the brand name does not include "," and the leading role remains with the automaker. The main partners are companies like GAC and Dongfeng. Recently, the new brand Qijie, jointly created by GAC and Huawei based on the HI model, has been released.

Even the Hongmeng Intelligent Driving brands such as "Wenjie" and "Zhijie" need to procure technology from Yiwang at the component level. This makes Yiwang the technological hub of the entire Huawei automotive system.

In terms of organization and operations, Yingwang currently has approximately 7,000 employees, most of whom come from the original Huawei Automotive Business Unit, with a high proportion of R&D personnel. The company headquarters is located in Shenzhen, and it has subsidiaries in Shanghai, Nanjing, Hangzhou, Suzhou, and Dongguan, as well as a branch office in Wuhan, forming a nationwide R&D and delivery network.

Leveraging Huawei's long-term accumulation of advantages in communication and computing, Yiwang has established a leading position in areas such as assisted driving, in-vehicle operating systems, and vehicle-cloud collaboration, becoming a top player in China's intelligent automotive components sector.

Looking forward to making money.

Seres and AITO's investment is attracting attention, also because Huawei's car BU business is really making money.

Continuous investment in the smart car sector was once the heaviest burden in Huawei's financial reports, regarded as a representative of "high investment, low return."

Since the establishment of the Car BU in 2019, Huawei has invested over 10 billion yuan annually in this field, with cumulative funding exceeding 40 billion yuan. Between 2021 and 2023, Huawei's Car BU business accumulated losses of over 24 billion yuan, temporarily becoming the only loss-making unit among Huawei's six major business segments. However, this situation is changing and is expected to reach a turning point in 2024.

According to Huawei's 2024 annual report, its Intelligent Automotive Solutions business achieved revenue of 26.35 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 4.7 times, and for the first time achieved annual profitability. This is seen as an important milestone in Huawei's automotive strategy. Xu Zhijun bluntly stated last year, "Whether it's the car BU or HiSilicon, they have already passed the most difficult period."

Image Source: Huawei Intelligent Automotive Solutions

The audit report released by Seres shows that during the period from 2022 to 2023, the sales revenue of Yingwang was 2.098 billion yuan and 4.7 billion yuan, respectively. From January to June 2024, Yingwang's operating revenue reached 10.44 billion yuan, with a net profit of 2.23 billion yuan. Clearly, Huawei's automotive business has emerged from the loss quagmire and entered a new stage of healthy growth.

The shift in profitability stems from Huawei's continuous adjustments to its automotive business structure and model over the past four years, reorganizing its R&D, supply, branding, and other segments.

On one hand, Huawei promotes the construction of the HarmonyOS intelligent driving ecosystem by collaborating with multiple car manufacturers such as Seres, Chery, BAIC, JAC, and SAIC through an open platform model. For example, models like AITO and ZhiJie are expected to see continuous sales growth in 2024, with annual delivery surpassing 400,000 units, making them one of the fastest-growing brands in China's smart car market. The increase in sales directly drives the growth of Huawei's automotive business service revenue and system licensing revenue.

On the other hand, the number of models using Huawei components or the HI model continues to increase, significantly expanding the business coverage. This "brand front-end, technology back-end" dual-line system allows Huawei to maintain industry openness while effectively enhancing profitability efficiency.

Entering 2025, although Huawei has not separately disclosed the revenue data for its automotive business in the first half of the year, multiple indicators show that its profitability trend continues.

HarmonyOS Intelligent Mobility: Cumulative Sales of the Five Major Brands Since 2022

As of August 2025, the cumulative delivery volume of the entire Harmony Intelligent Vehicle series has exceeded 900,000 units, and it has ranked first in the average transaction price among Chinese automotive brands for 15 consecutive months.

In the same month, Jin Yuzhi revealed that the number of vehicles equipped with Huawei's QianKun intelligent driving system has exceeded 1 million, and the shipment volume of lidar has surpassed 1 million units, showing a gradual emergence of scale effects. Currently, the QianKun intelligent driving system has been installed in over 28 models, covering categories such as sedans, SUVs, MPVs, and off-road vehicles, as well as various price ranges from 150,000 to 1 million, and different power forms including pure electric, extended-range, hybrid, and fuel vehicles.

From the perspective of institutions, the profitability of Huawei's automotive business holds long-term significance. Industry analysts suggest that as brands like Wenjie and Zhijie continue to grow, Huawei's automotive business profitability will further strengthen by 2025. Some institutions predict that as a core of technology and supply, its contribution will become an important support for Huawei's future profit growth.

This is because Huawei's automotive business model is shifting from single hardware sales to a "technology licensing + software subscription + component supply" trinity. With the popularization of assisted driving and vehicle-cloud collaboration technologies, Huawei is expected to achieve sustained revenue throughout the vehicle's lifecycle. This model is similar to the ecosystem charges in the smartphone industry, achieving long-term returns through system upgrades and algorithm subscriptions. It aligns more with the current trend of automotive intelligence development and can bring foreseeable long-term benefits to Huawei and its partners.

Furthermore, through the HarmonyOS ecosystem, Yinwang aims to establish connections between car companies and leading enterprises in other industries, further expanding its "circle of friends."2025At the HarmonyOS Ecological Conference, Xu Zhijun stated that the HarmonyOS ecosystem has undergone a fundamental transformation and its ecological foundation has been established. "Major internet applications have adapted to HarmonyOS, and mid-tail applications are gradually joining as well, making the HarmonyOS ecosystem essentially user-friendly." This is particularly important in light of the trend in the automotive industry shifting towards an ecological competition system.

Is it a "money tree"?

After Avita and Seres completed their respective investments, the equity structure of Yinwang gradually became clear. The 11.5 billion yuan invested by the two car companies is not only a financial arrangement but also a bet on the future growth potential of Huawei's smart car ecosystem. Although the investment return cycle remains uncertain, the development potential displayed by Huawei's HarmonyOS Smart Driving and Yinwang's two major businesses is gaining recognition from the capital market and the automotive industry.

The technology-centered ecological logic is driving Huawei's automotive business to form a "compound interest effect." According to the forecast by Gasgoo Auto Research Institute, ecological car companies that rely on intelligent core technologies and independent channels, such as HarmonyOS Intelligent Vehicle and Xiaomi Auto, will become major growth poles among new forces in the industry. In the future, the annual sales volume of single brands from such car companies may range between 1 million to 1.5 million units, occupying approximately 8% of the market share.

With the continued increase in production of HarmonyOS-powered vehicle brands such as AITO, Zhijie, and Xiangjie, as well as collaborative models, Huawei's automotive business will further demonstrate its economies of scale, and as a technology provider, Yinwang will also benefit from this.

For car companies, investing in Yinwang seems more like a choice to "align with the future." Seres has demonstrated the tangible benefits of this bilateral cooperation. After four years of losses, Seres turned a profit in 2024, with a net profit of 2.94 billion yuan in the first half of 2025, marking a year-on-year increase of over 80%.

The jointly created AITO series has become one of the hottest brands in China's high-end new energy market. The key behind this success is the deep collaboration with Huawei in terms of technology, channels, and branding. Today, Seres is not only a client of Huawei but also a shareholder, which provides more stable technical support and market position through equity binding. This case undoubtedly enhances the confidence of car manufacturers in investing in Huawei.

For Changan Automobile, investment guidance might be a crucial decision concerning the development of Avita. As a significant vehicle for the upward movement of the Changan Automobile brand, Avita has established a close cooperative relationship with Huawei under the HI model. However, with the establishment of Huawei's HarmonyOS "Five Realms" framework, Avita needs to seek deeper integration to ensure its priority within the Huawei system.

Although supported by Huawei's intelligent technology, Avita is still facing challenges in its operations. Between 2022 and 2024, Avita's cumulative losses have approached 10 billion yuan. In terms of sales, the cumulative sales for the first nine months of this year have just exceeded 90,000 units, achieving only 40% of the annual target, and the gap with series such as AITO and Li Auto continues to widen.

In such a situation, by acquiring a stake in Invo, Avita can not only secure a supply of technology but also share in the investment returns brought about by Invo's growth, thereby expanding its profit margins. This "technology + capital" dual bond provides Avita with more possibilities on its path to profitability and adds leverage to its plan for an IPO in Hong Kong.

The model of "co-building technology and sharing benefits" is also favored by the capital market. In a research report, Open Source Securities analyzed Seres' investment in Yiwang, stating that through equity relationships, Seres is expected to gain more industry-leading assistance in driving and intelligent cabin technologies from Huawei. As the sales volume of the cooperative models with Yiwang expands, it will continuously contribute to profitability, and Seres is expected to benefit from the investment returns brought by its stake in Yiwang. Avita will also be a beneficiary of this investment.

It is evident that Inovation not only provides Huawei with a new source of profit but also helps partner car companies build a long-term competitive moat. After all, as intelligence becomes the mainstream in the industry, competition between car companies is no longer confined to a single model or brand but is a systematic confrontation of ecosystems, technology, capital, and supply chains. Based on the new competitive landscape, the "technology + capital + ecosystem" system constructed by Inovation offers partner car companies a solution to meet these challenges to a certain extent.

It is foreseeable that when assisted driving and in-car systems gradually achieve scale profitability, Huawei's automotive business will transition from "heavy asset" investment to "light asset monetization." By then, in-car systems might truly become the third pillar supporting Huawei's continuous growth, following communication equipment and terminals, growing into a genuine "cash cow" and representing a new growth curve for investing in car companies.

It is worth noting that the smart car industry is highly competitive and rapidly evolving, making it challenging for Invo to maintain high-quality growth while keeping open cooperation. The payback period for investments in the billions is long, and car companies' investment returns still depend on continuous ecosystem expansion and stable market performance. Furthermore, as more shareholders join, how Invo maintains decision-making efficiency and technological leadership amid diverse interests will also become a new test.

In summary, investing carries risks, and one should be cautious when buying shares. Investment has never been a guaranteed money-making venture. Whether billions of funds can yield the expected returns depends on whether the market accepts it, whether the anticipated technology can maintain its leading position, and whether the collaboration among various enterprises can truly be realized.