On April 7th, according to automotive industry analyst Sun Shaojun, Huawei has confirmed its collaboration with one of the "Big Three" Japanese automakers in the field of intelligent driving. However, the specific brand has not been disclosed.

In general, the "Big Three" Japanese automakers typically refer to the models Corolla, Civic, and Camry. However, considering the context, Sun Shaojun should be referring to the three major Japanese brands: Toyota, Honda, and Nissan. For a long time, Japanese automotive brands have held a significant share in the Chinese market. However, with the impact of domestically produced new energy vehicles, Japanese brands have gradually declined. Especially in terms of intelligence, Japanese cars are no longer comparable to Chinese smart driving.

The latest data shows that Japanese cars, which once held a market share of 30%, saw their market share slide to 14.4% last month, reaching a new low for the year. Dongfeng Honda sold 28,000 vehicles in March, a year-on-year decrease of 51.5%. Guangzhou Honda sold 32,000 vehicles in March, a year-on-year decrease of 50.1%. Meanwhile, Nissan sold 87,000 vehicles in China, a decrease of 32.6% compared to the previous year. In addition, Guangzhou Toyota sold only 55,300 vehicles in March, a decrease of 32% in sales.

It is understood that Huawei's current cooperation with automakers generally follows three modes: component supply mode, solution mode (HI mode), and smart car selection mode (Hongmeng Intelligent Driving). This cooperation will likely adopt the HI mode, where Huawei and automakers jointly define and develop intelligent cars. In this mode, Huawei integrates a complete set of self-developed intelligent driving systems, cabin systems, domain controllers, chips, motors, and various sensors into the field of smart cars, deeply cooperating with automakers.

Currently, both Avita and Jihoo Automobiles have adopted the HI mode, with their products equipped with Huawei's Harmony OS smart cockpit and ADS 2.0 intelligent driving assistance system. In the Avita 12, which was just launched last month, the model is equipped with a HarmonyOS 4-based smart cockpit, Huawei's advanced intelligent driving solution 2.0, Huawei DriveONE dual-motor system, etc., which has received positive market feedback.

As of the time of writing, Huawei has not made a positive response to the cooperation.

Market speculation suggests that the probability of cooperation between Huawei and Dongfeng Nissan is high. On one hand, at the beginning of the year, Dongfeng Motors announced comprehensive cooperation with Huawei, focusing on the development of the intelligent field. On the other hand, currently, both Dongfeng Motor Corporation and its subsidiary, Menlo Technologies, have signed strategic cooperation agreements with Huawei, and it is expected that more substantive cooperation will be carried out in the future.