Huawei Could Integrate its Consumer Business Group and Smart Car Solutions Business Unit
Huawei is rumored to be reorganizing and consolidating its consumer business group and intelligent automobile solutions business unit under the leadership of Chengdong Yu, CEO of the Huawei consumer business group. The reason for the consolidation could be the overlap between the two departments.
The two groups have been integrated at the investment level, but changes in personnel and businesses have yet to been made, sources told 36Kr.
Huawei has yet to comment or confirm the information.
The company established its smart car solutions business unit in May 2019. The department operates under the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Management Committee, providing equipment and applications to car manufacturers.
Earlier this year, the Huawei consumer business group launched its HiCar system, a smartphone-to-vehicle interconnection solution. With Huawei’s substantial smartphone user base, the collaboration with automobile manufacturers and the coordination between cars and smartphones can significantly improve consumers’ smart driving experience.
Huawei HiCar has already partnered with more than 20 car makers and connected with more than 150 car models, according to data revealed by Gang He, the head of Huawei’s smartphone unit. The system is scheduled to be installed in more than 5 million vehicles in 2021.
Huawei smart car business unit’s brand “HI” provides in-depth and comprehensive solutions and services, such as intelligent driving, intelligent cockpit, intelligent electrification, intelligent connectivity and intelligent automobile cloud. The solution also involves augmented reality techs such as LiDAR and AR-HUD for mapping services, path detections, directions and more.
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Huawei executives seem to believe that cars are transitioning from traditional to smart, just like phones, and that their experience with smartphones can be transferred to the automobile sector. Following this logic, the integration of the two departments can be a way to prevent internal competition and improve efficiency.
Huawei intelligent automobile solutions business unit has more than 4,000 employees. The consolidation, should the news prove true, would expedite the development of Huawei’s smart car business.
