Written by | Haishan

Source | Bowang Finance

The automotive industry's partnership with Huawei is nothing new, but Dongfeng seems to be taking a more assertive approach.

"One team, investing billions."

On November 20, at the "2025 Huawei Qiankun Ecosystem Conference," Wang Junjun, General Manager of Epi Tech, made a late entrance, unveiling a PPT with this slogan to introduce the new brand, EIINE, developed in collaboration with Huawei.

On November 24, CNMO Tech reported that a blogger had posted spy photos of a suspected new six-seater SUV from Dongfeng EIINE, noting that the window outlines were more square-shaped. This suggests that the new brand is gradually making its way into the market.

The key question is: Can Dongfeng's partnership with Huawei propel EIINE to success?

01

Sales Challenges

The collaboration between Dongfeng and Huawei is driven by the broader trend of automotive industry intelligence and Dongfeng's own sales pressures.

According to a previous announcement by Dongfeng Motor at the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, cumulative auto sales from January to October 2025 reached 1,501,025 units, marking a year-on-year decrease of approximately 1.6%. Among these, new energy vehicle sales stood at 421,355 units, up about 37.1% year-on-year. The parent company, Dongfeng Motor Group Co., Ltd., reported cumulative auto sales of 1,944,917 units, a year-on-year decrease of about 3.1%. Dongfeng Motor Corporation (600006.SH), a subsidiary, saw cumulative auto sales of 99,482 units, down approximately 21.4% year-on-year.

Reflecting on the past, amidst sales challenges in recent years, the partnership between Dongfeng Epi and Huawei has been continuously deepening and evolving, with significant milestones achieved in an orderly fashion.

For instance, in January 2025, Dongfeng Epi and Huawei officially signed a strategic cooperation agreement in Shenzhen, marking a new phase in their partnership, with the project adopting the innovative HI PLUS cooperation model.

In May of the same year, the scope of cooperation expanded further, with both sides extending their collaboration to core technology areas such as intelligent driving, smart cockpits, and vehicle control, achieving a comprehensive and deep integration.

In September, the jointly established innovation lab was officially inaugurated, focusing on key areas such as in-vehicle software development and AI pan-scenario applications, conducting concentrated research and accelerating the transformation of technological achievements.

In October, the first model of the project successfully completed a 70°C high-temperature environment test, verifying the product's adaptability to extreme conditions. Meanwhile, a brand naming contest was launched for the public, initiating the first step of user co-creation.

02

Joint Definition, Distinct from "Jie"

Over the past few years, the Smart Selection vehicle has been one of Huawei's key cooperation models with automakers. Given the current challenges in expanding the five "Jie" brands, automakers and Huawei are exploring new business models.

As the first automotive brand deeply co-built by a central automotive enterprise and Huawei, Dongfeng is the first automotive group to venture into such new territories. This collaboration not only revolutionizes industry models, creating a new paradigm of "joint definition, joint development, and joint operation," but also injects new vitality into the fiercely competitive smart new energy vehicle market through the bidirectional empowerment of "Chinese manufacturing heritage" and "cutting-edge technological strength."

Recalling the journey of cooperation, from the initial collaboration in the intelligent field years ago to the upgrade to Phase 2.0 in 2023, a cumulative investment of billions has been made, and a dedicated R&D team has been formed for three years of in-depth research, successfully achieving a leap from simple technological collaboration to full-chain deep integration.

Public information reveals that in the cooperation, Huawei fully opens its complete IPD/IPMS operation system and strict quality control standards, deeply integrating full-stack intelligent solutions such as Qiankun Intelligent Driving ADS 4 and HarmonyOS Cockpit into the "EIINE" brand, building a solid core technological barrier.

The manufacturer leverages its years of automotive industrial product development capabilities. Dongfeng utilizes its core technologies such as the Quantum Architecture and Mach Power to lay a solid foundation for the "EIINE" brand's product strength, attempting to infuse Dongfeng's previous vehicle manufacturing standards into the new brand.

The official debut of "EIINE" signifies, in a sense, the industry's entry into a new stage of "full-scenario experience competition."

It is reported that the brand precisely targets the high-quality family vehicle segment, with "safety, intelligence, and co-creation" as its core value propositions. It strives for excellence in product development, not only developing a "zero-fire" safety battery to safeguard travel safety but also refining every product detail with 0.5-millimeter precision.

Currently, the Chinese new energy vehicle market is experiencing rapid growth, with the penetration rate expected to climb to 56% by 2025. Intelligence has become the core competitive arena for automakers, and Huawei Qiankun Intelligent Driving has captured a 27.8% market share, accounting for over half of high-end models. The deep integration of technology and manufacturing between Dongfeng and Huawei will undoubtedly reshape the value benchmark in the segmented market.

As a core member of Huawei Qiankun's "Jing" series, "EIINE" complements GAC's "Qijing," further enhancing Huawei's intelligent vehicle ecosystem layout and constructing a product matrix covering multiple price ranges and full powertrain forms.

It is understood that the first model of "EIINE" is planned to debut at the Beijing Auto Show in April 2026, followed by a steady product launch rhythm, with at least one new model introduced annually.

Currently, the penetration rate of high-level intelligent driving is less than 10%. The cooperation model between Dongfeng and Huawei provides a referable and replicable practical template for the intelligent transformation of traditional automakers, expected to accelerate the large-scale popularization of intelligent driving technology and promote the transformation of China's automotive industry from scale expansion to high-quality development.

03

New Approach Needs Market Validation

Previously, Epi's sales steadily increased, adopting a relatively saturated market coverage strategy.

For example, the brand has built a product matrix spanning both new energy and fuel vehicles, covering more than ten models such as Fengshen and Epi, primarily focusing on the mass consumer market below 200,000 yuan. However, despite the rich model lineup, it has failed to cultivate a scalable, blockbuster hit comparable to leading automakers.

Epi Tech's October sales reached 31,107 units, up 34.9% year-on-year. However, the relatively outstanding Fengshen L7 sold less than 5,000 units in October, failing to rank among the top sellers in the mainstream competitive arena.

Wang Junjun led his team in a strong offensive, clearly planning to expand the Epi product matrix to 20 models by 2028, while committing to annual iterative upgrades for each model to achieve "constant innovation" and continuously refine and optimize the user experience.

While accelerating new vehicle launches and broadening the product layout, Wang Junjun's team has also established a mid-term core goal: to fully create a blockbuster model that truly stands firm in the market.

The new brand, "EIINE," is the core vehicle for Dongfeng's management to place its hopes for a blockbuster model. Wang Junjun revealed that this new brand model will be equipped with the next-generation Huawei Qiankun Intelligent Driving system. During the model refinement process, it will draw on the mainstream user co-creation model of tech companies to make the product more aligned with actual public needs.

He cited an example, stating that the team would invite potential users to participate in joint co-creation, with hundreds of product optimization details, ranging from headlight design and body color to material selection and airflow angle of air conditioning vents, all originating from users' real proposals and creative ideas.

The first model of EIINE targets the popular full-size SUV category, planning to leverage Huawei's technological support and marketing resource advantages to make a strong impact in this segmented market.

However, it cannot be ignored that currently, the number of automakers seeking cooperation with Huawei is increasing. Huawei already has 14 partners, with 33 related cooperative models having achieved mass production and launch, making the market competition increasingly fierce.

In other words, for Wang Junjun's team to break through among numerous competitors and create a true blockbuster model, they need to leverage Huawei's technological and resource advantages while relying on their core capabilities in product definition and user operation to forge a differentiated development path.

Shifting the focus back to Dongfeng itself, the feasibility of this layout may lie in the company's hope to form a more comprehensive group matrix.

Currently, VOYAH has completed a "three-flagship" product layout in the high-end market, launching three models: Dreamer, Mount Taishan (likely a model name), and Ziguang L, covering the three mainstream segments of MPV, SUV, and sedan. Among them, the flagship SUV VOYAH Mount Taishan has performed particularly brilliantly, with orders exceeding 10,000 units just 21 minutes after launch. Its equipped Huawei Qiankun ADS 4.0 intelligent driving system and the domestically premiered three-chamber air suspension fully demonstrate the strong market appeal underpinned by top-notch technology.

On the other hand, MHERO Technology focuses on the luxury intelligent off-road segment. Its first model, co-built with Huawei, the MHERO M817, quickly ranked among the top tier in its class in terms of reputation and sales upon launch. The recently released MHERO M817 Hero Edition further consolidates and deepens its core competitiveness in the segmented off-road market through over 20 modification interface designs combined with user co-creation concepts.

Thus, the strategic positioning of the EIINE brand becomes clearer: it is not a brand born out of thin air but a key layout by Dongfeng and Huawei to target the broader mainstream family vehicle market after successfully validating the cooperation model with VOYAH and MHERO. Ultimately, it forms a complete brand echelon (likely meaning "tier" or "level") from the high-end market (VOYAH, MHERO) to the mainstream market (EIINE), achieving seamless strategic connection and comprehensive coverage.