Apple’s plans of foraying in the world of electric vehicles have been the talk of the town lately, and for good reasons. However, it appears that Apple is not the only consumer electronics giant eyeing a piece of the global EV pie. As per a Reuters report,  HUAWEI is planning to make electric cars and sell them under the eponymous brand.

Talks underway with local names to use their manufacturing plants for making EVs

The company – whose giant smartphone business has been on a sharp decline lately due to US trade sanctions – has been in talks with state-owned Changan Automobile and few other names in China to make its electric vehicles at their manufacturing facilities. More importantly, sources familiar with the latest developments claim that HUAWEI could launch ‘some models’ in 2021 itself. 

“Huawei has started internally designing the EVs and approaching suppliers at home, with the aim of officially launching the project as early as this year, three of the sources said.

Richard Yu, head of Huawei’s consumer business group who led the company to become one of the world’s largest smartphone makers, will shift his focus to EVs, said one source.”

The upcoming HUAWEI electric vehicles will reportedly have a mass-market approach, unlike the rumoured ‘Apple Car’, which is said to be a luxury drive with no aim of competing against the likes of Tesla’s lower-priced EVs such as the Model 3. 

HUAWEI's EV will reportedly have a mass-market appeal

China’s local EV industry has witnessed a surge lately, with the uptake of electric vehicles said to go up at a rapid pace in the coming years. As for HUAWEI, a foray in the domain of electric vehicles makes sense, more so as an alternative business opportunity after getting its smartphone hammered by sanctions. Plus, fellow names such as Foxconn and Baidu are also harboring their own electric vehicle ambitions as well. 

HUAWEI has been a player in the EV industry for a while now

BYD Han electric car based on HUAWEI’s car software platform

HUAWEI is said to have recently received four electric vehicle-related patents in China. Additionally, the company has partnerships with the likes of Daimler AG and General Motors concerning EV technologies, and has been developing related solutions such as in-car software systems and sensors for a while now. 

Back in 2019, HUAWEI introduced what it calls the world’s first 5G communications hardware for cars that was based on the in-house Balong 5000 chip. And in July last year, Chinese automaker BYD launched its 5G-equipped Han electric car that ran on HUAWEI’s HarmonyOS car platform.