Changan Automobile Group and Huawei Technologies signed a strategic cooperation framework agreement in Shenzhen on August 11, extending their partnership from specific vehicle models and smart solutions to AI large models, computing power, and software-hardware integration. This marks another deepening of ties following their 2023 investment cooperation memorandum.
Signing Background: Senior Leadership Presence Signals Upgrade
On August 11, Changan Automobile Group and Huawei Technologies officially signed a strategic cooperation framework agreement in Shenzhen. Zhu Huarong, chairman of Changan Automobile, and Xu Zhijun, vice chairman and rotating chairman of Huawei, attended the ceremony together — underscoring the high priority both giants place on this collaboration.
Under the agreement, both parties will deepen cooperation across:
- AI products and scenarios: Joint development of AI application scenarios for the automotive industry
- General and automotive-specific large models: Building vertical-domain large models for the auto sector
- Digital infrastructure: Constructing foundational digital architectures to support intelligent transformation
- Computing power: Collaboration in intelligent computing centers and edge computing
- Software-hardware synergy: Full-stack joint R&D from chips to algorithms
The partnership will further expand into digital energy, global expansion, and the cultivation of digital and intelligent talent.
Partnership Evolution: Three Leaps from Vehicle to Foundation
The Changan-Huawei relationship has followed a clear evolutionary path:
- Phase One (November 2023): Signed memorandum of investment cooperation, entering the capital level
- Phase Two (August 2024): Avatr Technology signed investment agreement with Yinwang, deeply binding intelligent driving technology
- Phase Three (2025 onward): Avatr completed investment delivery, cooperation shifting from single models to foundational technology co-building
This latest agreement marks the formal leap from a "specific vehicles + smart solutions" model to a new stage of AI foundational capability co-construction.
| Phase | Timeline | Cooperation Content | Depth |
|---|---|---|---|
| Phase One | Nov 2023 | Investment cooperation memorandum | Capital-level intent |
| Phase Two | Aug 2024 | Avatr invests in Yinwang | Tech + capital binding |
| Phase Three | 2025 | Completion of delivery | Deep cooperation realized |
| Phase Four | Aug 2026 | AI large models & computing | Foundational capability co-building |
Strategic Significance: The Underlying Logic of Intelligence Competition
The expanded scope of this cooperation sends an important signal: partnerships between Chinese automakers and tech giants are shifting from consumer-visible feature layers (smart cockpits, driver assistance) to invisible foundational capability layers (large models, computing power, digital infrastructure).
This trend means:
- Automotive intelligence competition is no longer limited to "who has bigger screens or more ADAS features"
- The real competitive moat is migrating toward AI computing power, data loops, and vertical large models
- The automaker-tech company relationship is evolving from "supplier-customer" to "strategic co-building"
For Changan, cooperation with Huawei on AI large models and computing helps fill gaps in its foundational intelligent capabilities. For Huawei, Changan — as a major automotive group with annual sales exceeding one million units — provides scalable application scenarios and data feedback for its AI technologies.
Stay updated on China's automotive industry partnerships at EX1000.COM.
