As it bears the backlash of Trump sanctions and continues to struggle with supplies, Smartphone maker Huawei may turn to electronic cars, according to a report from Reuters.
According to the report, the Chinese firm has already started designing some vehicles internally and could even roll out some models this very year. Sources have said that Huawei is having discussion with Changan Automobile as well as BAIC Group’s BluePark New Energy Technology to manufacture its vehicles.
However, the company denies any such intentions.
A spokesperson has said that “Huawei is not a car manufacturer. However, through ICT (information and communications technology), we aim to be a digital car-oriented and new-added components provider, enabling car OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) to build better vehicles.”
Essentially, the company does not plan to make whole cars but manufacture and supply parts to other makers. However, other people familiar with the matter have said that this is a carefully planned strategic shift for the firm.
Huawei was placed on a “trade blacklist” by the Trump government, which cut if off from supply chains which provided it with essential subparts for the manufacture of its phones. After that, the firm faced a lot of trouble and even had to sell the Honor brand to keep its head above water, last year. Still, Founder Ren Zhengfei has said that they would continue to make smartphones under Biden. Now, the firm seem to be joining the Asian tech trend to join the EV market.
The Chinese giant has been developing technologies for electric vehicles for quite some time now. Huawei had formed partnerships with automakers such as Daimler AG and SAIC Motors to develop smart auto technologies together.
Huawei has also increased hiring of engineers for such technologies since the past three years. Additionally, this week alone the company has procured four patents related to electric vehicles. These include charging methods between electric vehicles and for checking battery health.
