Chery and Huawei Innogo deepened their partnership to jointly drive L3 and L4 autonomous driving into mass production. Based on the Software-Defined Vehicle concept, the two parties integrate Huawei's intelligent driving solutions with Chery's manufacturing capabilities, planning multi-model rollout in 2026. This marks Chinese OEMs' first attempt at large-scale L4 production.
Partnership Architecture: Innogo Model and SDV
Chery and Huawei Innogo adopted an upgraded HI model. Innogo, as Huawei's independent intelligent vehicle solutions entity, provides Chery with complete intelligent driving hardware and software platforms. Chery handles vehicle integration and manufacturing; both parties share data and iteration results.
Software-Defined Vehicle (SDV) is the core architecture of this cooperation. Traditional vehicles are bounded by hardware, while SDV continuously expands capabilities through OTA updates:
- L3: Conditional autonomous driving; drivers can take hands off and eyes off in specific scenarios
- L4: High autonomous driving; no human intervention required within designated areas
Chery plans to launch 3 mass-produced models with L3 autonomous driving in H2 2026, covering the Tiggo series and Exeed brands. L4 will first be deployed in Robotaxi scenarios, operating in designated areas like Wuhu and Hefei.
Tech Solution and Mass Production Timeline
Huawei Innogo's intelligent driving solution for Chery comprises three core layers:
- Perception: 192-line LiDAR + 11 cameras + 6 mmWave radars + ultrasonic sensors
- Decision: Ascend chip set, computing power reaching 400 TOPS, supporting multi-sensor fusion
- Execution: Redundant wire-controlled chassis, dual backup for steering/braking/drive
Mass production timeline is confirmed:
- Q3 2026: L3 City NOA opens in 10 cities
- Q4 2026: L3 Highway NOA covers 90% of national highways
- H1 2027: L4 Robotaxi commercial operation in 3 demonstration zones
- H2 2027: L3 downgrades to 150k yuan segment models
Market Impact and Competitive Landscape
| Company | AD Level | Mass Production | Chip TOPS | Sensor Suite | Deployment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chery+Huawei | L3/L4 | Q3 2026 | 400 | LiDAR+Vision | Passenger/Robotaxi |
| XPeng | L3 | Q2 2026 | 508 | LiDAR+Vision | City NOA |
| NIO | L3 | Q3 2026 | 1016 | LiDAR+Vision | Highway+City |
| Tesla China | L2+ | In production | 144 | Vision-only | Highway NOA |
| BYD | L2+ | Q4 2026 | 200 | Vision+mmWave | Highway NOA |
For Central Asia and Russia, L3/L4 mass production is significant. Russian winter roads are icy with low visibility, demanding extreme perception capabilities. Huawei's LiDAR maintains normal operation at -40℃, an advantage vision-only systems cannot match. EX1000.COM research shows 72% of high-income Central Asian buyers rank autonomous driving capability among top three purchase factors. Chery's early L3/L4 mass production will establish significant differentiation in the premium market.
