Will Dongfeng Motor start a new cooperation model with Huawei or create another GAC "Qijing"?
All pictures in this article are from the WeChat official account of Dongfeng Motor.
On September 23, according to the WeChat public account of "Dongfeng Motor", Yang Qing, Chairman and Party Secretary of Dongfeng Motor, went to Shenzhen on the 22nd and held talks with Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei and Huawei's rotating chairman Xu Zhijun. The two sides had in-depth exchanges on topics such as strengthening strategic mutual trust, deepening strategic cooperation, and promoting innovation in corporate governance and operating mechanisms.
The article mentioned that Yang Qing stated that Dongfeng Motor is actively promoting the transition to new energy and intelligent technologies, and will continue to deepen strategic collaboration with Huawei to jointly face industrial transformation and market challenges. Ren Zhengfei stated that the fundamental principle of the automotive industry is to build good cars, and the highest level of a car is safety.
Dongfeng Motor said that in the future, Dongfeng Motor and Huawei will work together in product definition, intelligent technology, marketing and other fields, actively explore new paths for market-oriented operations of central enterprises, and lay a solid foundation for the next stage of comprehensive coordination and innovative cooperation.
After meeting Xu Zhijun, will Dongfeng recreate GAC's "Qijing"?
Dongfeng Motor mentioned that during their discussions with Xu Zhijun, the two sides focused on in-depth discussions on topics such as continued advancement of comprehensive strategic cooperation, corporate management, and talent development, jointly exploring new paths for industrial upgrading. Xu Zhijun stated that Huawei will fully support Dongfeng Motor's transformation and development.
It is also worth mentioning that Jin Yuzhi, CEO of Huawei Intelligent Automotive Solutions BU, also appeared in the group photo displayed by Dongfeng Motor.
Just a few days ago, Eric Xu and Feng Xingya, Chairman and General Manager of GAC Group, jointly announced the "Qijing" brand. Jointly developed by GAC Group and Huawei Qiankun, the "Qijing" brand is positioned as a high-end intelligent new energy vehicle brand.
Qijing is built on the foundation of GAC Huawang Auto. On March 18th of this year, Huawang Auto, a new company established with a 1.5 billion yuan investment from GAC Group, was officially established to jointly develop new brands and models with Huawei.
According to the joint plan, all Qijing vehicles will be equipped with Huawei Qiankun's intelligent technologies. Huawei's strengths in assisted driving, intelligent cockpits, user ecosystems, and brand marketing, combined with GAC's expertise in electric, hybrid, and electric vehicle technologies and vehicle manufacturing, will complement each other's strengths and foster close collaboration.
Huawang Automobile and Qijing brand are seen as another new model of cooperation between Huawei and car companies.
Dongfeng's talks with Xu Zhijun and Jin Yuzhi, as well as Yu Chengdong's repeated mention that the quota for the "five realms" is full, have also led many industry insiders to speculate that Dongfeng Motor may be interested in upgrading its cooperation with Huawei and adopting a cooperation model similar to GAC's "Qijing" that is "automakers-led and Huawei deeply embedded."
Dongfeng Mengshi is accompanying the team, or it may carry the in-depth cooperation with Huawei
According to Dongfeng Mengshi, Wan Liangyu, the new CEO of Dongfeng Motor Group Co., Ltd.'s Mengshi Automotive Technology Company, also joined them on the Shenzhen trip and had in-depth discussions with Xu Zhijun and Jin Yuzhi. This was Wan Liangyu's first public appearance since taking the CEO role.
A few days ago, Dongfeng's Mengshi brand, which focuses on "hard-core off-road", just made new moves.
On September 17, Dongfeng Group Co., Ltd. announced that it had signed an investment agreement with Dongfeng Motor Corporation, Xiangyang Holdings and Xianggao Investment to establish a new joint venture with a registered capital of 8.47 billion yuan, which will engage in the manufacturing and sales of "intelligent off-road vehicles."
People familiar with the matter revealed to the reporter from The Paper that Dongfeng intends to inject the Mengshi brand into the new company to promote the development of the off-road brand.
This meeting between the two parties is also seen as a signal of deepening cooperation between Dongfeng Mengshi and Huawei.
The Dongfeng Mengshi originated from a military vehicle project established by Dongfeng in 2003. In 2022, Dongfeng Mengshi Technology was officially established, becoming Dongfeng Motor's pioneer in the luxury new energy off-road vehicle market. In February 2024, Mengshi began collaborating with Huawei. On August 17th of this year, the Mengshi M817 officially launched, equipped with a full suite of Huawei Qiankun intelligent vehicle solutions, demonstrating its high degree of Chinese expertise.
In addition, since this year, Jin Yuzhi has attended many public events to support Dongfeng Mengshi.
Dongfeng Motor and Huawei began their collaboration as early as 2018, when they signed their first strategic agreement to jointly develop next-generation intelligent connected electric vehicle technologies.
In the following years, as the cooperation continued to deepen, the strategic cooperation between Dongfeng Motor and Huawei continued to escalate. In 2024, Dongfeng's high-end brand Lantu Motors officially announced the signing of a strategic cooperation agreement with Huawei. The agreement will adopt the Huawei HI model and equip several of its models with Huawei Qiankun Intelligent Driving and Hongmeng Cockpit.
On May 23rd of this year, Dongfeng and Huawei officially signed a comprehensive and in-depth strategic cooperation agreement under the witness of Hubei Provincial Party Secretary Wang Zhonglin and other leaders. Both parties expressed their commitment to carry out all-round and in-depth cooperation in areas such as automotive intelligence.
