Qijing Brand Officially Unveiled, GAC-Huawei Partnership Further Upgraded

After the establishment of HUAWANG Automobile at the beginning of this year as a key part of the deepened cooperation between GAC Group and Huawei, news about the comprehensive upgrade of their collaboration continues to emerge. Recently, the "Qijing" brand, jointly created by GAC Group and Huawei's Qiankun, was officially launched. According to official sources, the "Qijing" brand targets young demographics, focusing on core capabilities such as intelligent driving and smart cockpits.

According to the plans of both parties, Qijing's products will be fully equipped with Huawei's Qiankun intelligent technology, positioning the brand as a high-end intelligent new energy brand. It will deeply integrate the respective advantages of GAC Group and Huawei in terms of intelligence, ecology, and brand synergy. From the development path perspective, the "Qijing" brand can be seen as a further implementation of the Huawei Automotive project, which also means that the cooperation between GAC and Huawei is rapidly advancing to the next stage.

For the new brand, both GAC Group and Huawei have expressed high expectations. GAC Group Chairman Feng Xingya stated, "GAC and Huawei have started a new strategic partnership in the new environment. Huawei is not only an important partner for GAC, but also a teacher and model for recreating a new GAC. The Qijinh project is crucial for GAC Group, and GAC will prioritize Qijinh at the highest level, concentrating advantageous resources to ensure the long-term development of the Qijinh brand."

Huawei's rotating chairman, Xu Zhijun, stated: "I hope the young Qijing Auto can open new horizons and achieve intelligent success in the future. I encourage both teams to work together to build Qijing into a high-end brand."

It is reported that, unlike the component supply models of Huawei and other car companies, the HI model, or the HarmonyOS Intelligent Driving model, Huawang adopts a core model of "system-level integration." The marketing system breaks through traditional frameworks and draws on Huawei's IPMS system to build a new process that spans product definition, marketing, and ecological services.

This model is currently referred to as "HI PLUS," with Huawei participating through its smart car solution BU's subsidiary, HiVion. Since HiVion has been involved in various stages of the Huawei-Vision project, including vehicle definition, product design, R&D, and marketing, it is widely believed that the level of Huawei's involvement in this collaboration is close to that of the HarmonyOS Intelligent Driving "Five Domains."

In terms of products, according to previous news, Huanwang Automobile is currently planning to launch two models: a sedan and an SUV. The powertrains will include both pure electric and range-extender options, with an expected release next year. These are likely to be the first models to enter the market under the Qijing brand. Both new cars will have a style similar to the hottest models in the market above 200,000 yuan, but will be positioned as more high-end, primarily targeting the 300,000 yuan market segment.

Technically, GAC Aion's AEP 3.0 dedicated electric platform will be used for Huawang Automotive, while Huawei and Yinwang will provide three core solutions for Huawang Automotive: Qian Kun Intelligent Driving, HarmonyOS Cockpit, and Universal Vehicle Control System.

As a key move to deepen the cooperation between GAC and Huawei, GAC officially established Huawang Automobile in March this year with an investment of 1.5 billion yuan, featuring dual certification of "GAC Manufacturing + Huawei Intelligence." In August, GAC Group announced that its subsidiary GAC Aion plans to increase its investment in Huawang Automobile by 600 million yuan, and Huawang Automobile will utilize Aion's production capacity to manufacture vehicles.

As an important part of GAC's "Panyu Action" reform, Huawang represents a significant attempt to reform GAC's self-owned brands and R&D system. It also signifies that resources within the group will be further concentrated, aiming to strengthen products through the integration of advantages and achieve better market responses.

Tracing back the past cooperation between GAC and Huawei, there have been many ups and downs. As early as 2017, GAC had collaborated with Huawei and was one of the first automakers to engage in the HI model cooperation with Huawei. However, the collaboration was forced to be interrupted later due to various reasons.

Since last year, GAC and Huawei have frequently appeared together, and their collaboration has. In November last year, they signed a strategic cooperation agreement for smart vehicles, and new models from GAC Trumpchi will adopt Huawei's Harmony cockpit and QianKun intelligent driving. Subsequently, the establishment of Huawang Company in March further advanced their cooperation to a new level.

Huawang Auto's urban channel has now officially launched, covering key first- and second-tier cities in China, including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, as well as Chengdu, Chongqing, Urumqi, Changchun, Harbin, Wuhan, and Changsha. The channel model will adhere to the principle of having fewer dealers but more stores, while utilizing Huawei's innovative marketing methods to shape the channel and brand. Meanwhile, GAC Group will maintain its characteristics in marketing, regional sales store management, and regional control.

The emergence of "Qijing" will undoubtedly have a significant impact on both parties.

For GAC, their deep partnership with Huawei allows them to quickly carve out a niche in the high-end new energy market and gain tangible market share. For Huawei, this means that their automotive landscape continues to expand, creating a new model of deep collaboration with traditional automakers at the "national team" level.

It is foreseeable that the emergence of "Qijing" will completely put an end to various speculations about the relationship between GAC and Huawei. In the face of fierce competition, making more friends is an unchanging rule.