Thread by @ConnectingODots

HUAWEI EV PLANS
⚠️IMPORTANT⚠️
Yesterday MSM started spreading a Reuters piece saying Huawei will possibly start making EVs as soon as next year.

Surprised at sudden interest, as this was put in the open since 9/2020 (see following tweet)
1/
bit.ly/3uEXfrt

2/
In 2019 Huawei chairman Xu Zhijun said "If you look at the stock price of Tesla, you will know where the future of automobiles lies,"

asia.nikkei.com/Spotlight/Caix…

3/
Huawei sees #Tesla leading an AUTO-INDUSTRY REVOLUTION, powered by electricity and AI, which will lead to a fundamental change in the design of cars and the structure of the industry.

Huawei wants a piece of the action.

4/
On 5/2019 they set up an auto business unit focusing on smart car solutions
"Anything that Tesla can do, we can do," they said

Auto business includes 5 segments for anything EV:
×smart driving,
×smart cockpit platform,
×intelligent network,
×smart electric,
×cloud services

5/
Huawei aims to become ONE-STOP SUPPLIER of all SW and HW for smart cars. They expect only 2-3 players globally

They've been AGGRESSIVELY RECRUITING talent from major auto suppliers such as Bosch. If needed, Huawei can quickly set up a team with thousands of professionals.

6/
IMPORTANT!
V2 of Harmony OS, Huawei's Android-alternative to power Huawei's smartphones from 2021 - and also Huawei's smart cockpit platform HiCar, allowing to control most autonomous functions in vehicles via Huawei cellphone

Huawei pushing auto biz fwd regardless of cost

7/
IMPORTANT
Huawei partnered with 18 Chinese automakers on 5G applications for cars.
As of 9/2020, over 150 models from 20 automakers(!) adopted Huawei's HiCar smart cockpit platform, similar to Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. Number of models will exceed 500 by 2021

8/
Huawei partnered BAIC's EV unit to co-produce a car.
The first model is N61. A prototype of the car is set to hit the market in Q4 2021.

N61 fully adopted Huawei's SW and HW solutions for smart cars and can operate in Level 4 autonomy, meaning conditionally full self-driving.

9/
Huawei's autonomous driving system includes three lidars; six millimeter-wave radars; 12 ultrasonic radars; and 13 cameras.

System powered by two high-end Ascend AI chips. The hardware configuration is more advanced than that of Tesla's Model 3.

10/
The company has enough chip inventories to support auto research and small-scale production despite the U.S. trade ban.

Whether they start making Huawei branded cars or just provide solutions such as FSD, OS etc. to other OEMs, Huawei will be a force to reckon with.

11/
Which brings me to my THEORY on why so important for Apple to enter the EV game. As Teslas proliferate and numerous people drive or ride Tesla OS cars, they can become an OS competitor to Apple in other sectirs, such as smart homes, mobile/tablet and personal computers.

12/
Apple's most is its seamless ecosystem. Leaving the car OS to others threatens the entire castle.

Huawei apparently realizes this!

@Nikola_Truth @stevenmarkryan @iamtomnash @TeslaBest @EvaFoxU @WholeMarsBlog @28delayslater @stekkerauto @TilmanWinkler @billhuang688 @jpr007 @garyblack00

@threadreaderapp unroll Huawei thread - Bam!

@stingertimj @wirbelschleppe @IamKarsten @xDreamCoding @Cosmicstrenght3

* Apple's MOAT is its ecosystem
Having users switch to another OS while riding in Teslas breaches the moat and endangers the entire castle