During the Snake Year Spring Festival, SAIC and Huawei's collaboration seemingly made significant strides. In mid-January, multiple trademarks including "Shangjie" and "SAIC Shangjie" applied by SAIC Motor came to light, fueling speculation about the fifth iteration of Hongmeng Zhixing.

As previously reported exclusively, SAIC Motor's "Large Passenger Vehicle Sector" embarked on a competitive recruitment drive before the Spring Festival, which insiders interpreted as preparations for Huawei's integration into the autonomous vehicle sector.

Recent reports indicate that Zhu Yong, Deputy General Manager of SAIC Passenger Vehicle Company, is leading the Shangjie project on the SAIC side. Additionally, a source informed Luka Auto that Zhang Liang, concurrently serving as Executive Director of the Large Passenger Vehicle Strategy, Process, and Model Planning Department, is responsible for product planning for the SAIC-Huawei collaboration.

Prior to his promotion to Deputy General Manager in August last year, Zhu Yong served as Executive Director of the Power Drive Platform in SAIC Passenger Vehicle Company's Business Planning and Project Management Department. With a strong technical background, Zhu Yong spearheaded the development of the DMH super hybrid technology, currently featured in main models such as the Roewe D7 and iMAX8.

As mentioned in previous reports, the first jointly developed vehicle by SAIC and Huawei will involve a "remake" of an existing Feifan Automobile model. Recent reports also suggest that this first car may become the Roewe "ES39".

While details on the technical solution for the relaunch remain scarce, the appointment of Zhu Yong to lead the "Shangjie" project hints that the SAIC-Huawei collaboration will not be limited to pure electric powertrains. Instead, it's expected that SAIC's DMH super hybrid technology will be implemented.

With a focus on strengthening plug-in hybrid and extended range capabilities, will SAIC's DMH technology make its mark?

Before the Snake Year New Year, Huawei personnel had already stationed at SAIC, planning to introduce Huawei's comprehensive technical solutions to Feifan, as exclusively reported earlier. Concurrently, SAIC's Large Passenger Vehicle sector underwent an organizational restructuring to revamp its foundational mechanisms, described by insiders as "new force-oriented," facilitating the integration of Huawei's IPD system.

As discussions between the two parties deepened, so did disagreements on cooperation details. A source close to SAIC Motor revealed that product planning is paramount in automaker-Huawei collaborations, with Zhang Liang, responsible for product planning, initially leading liaisons with Huawei.

At that time, a source disclosed that SAIC and Huawei initially planned three models, including a revamped Feifan "ES37" and two other new models. However, recent media reports indicate that the first model has shifted to a new car with the internal code name "ES39" from Roewe, and the person in charge of Huawei liaison has changed to Zhu Yong, who holds a higher position within SAIC.

This change has sparked speculation about the cooperation mode between SAIC and Huawei. As previously reported exclusively, the two parties are exploring a new cooperation model, potentially exceeding the current "four jie" depth. However, with the exposure of SAIC's "Shangjie" trademark, some media have reported that the parties have preliminarily determined the Hongmeng Zhixing cooperation mode. Neither SAIC nor Huawei has responded to this, leaving the final form of their collaboration uncertain.

Zhu Yong's appointment, with a background in powertrain R&D, signals deeper technical cooperation between the two parties. Although the currently exposed collaborative models—the revamped Feifan "ES37" and Roewe "ES39"—are pure electric, the focus of their jointly developed vehicles may shift from pure electric to plug-in hybrid and extended range before an official announcement.

Competing for Huawei Resources

Meanwhile, domestic consumption trends are evolving. In the 2024 new energy vehicle market, among the top 10 best-selling pure electric models, most are compact and small cars priced under 150,000 yuan, excluding Tesla's Model Y and Model 3. Recent terminal sales data reveals that in the medium/large vehicle market, the sales growth rate of plug-in hybrids (including extended range) significantly outpaces that of pure electric vehicles, particularly in 2024, with a notable year-on-year increase. The market share of plug-in hybrids in this segment has expanded from approximately 20% to 35%...

Within SAIC Motor, the joint venture automaker SAIC Volkswagen has publicly announced plans to introduce more locally developed plug-in hybrid and extended-range hybrid products to the Chinese market from 2026 onwards. Rumors suggest that these technologies are supported by SAIC Motor and point to DMH technology, though SAIC Volkswagen has not disclosed relevant technical details publicly.

Currently, DMH technology is predominantly used in Roewe brand models. Through price reductions, the Roewe D7 DMH has lowered its starting price below 100,000 yuan. In terms of the application and sales scale of plug-in hybrid models, SAIC still lags behind automakers like BYD, Geely, and Changan.

Moreover, examining models currently in deep collaboration with Huawei on the market, almost all, except for the Zhijie S7, offer extended-range versions. At a recent investor exchange meeting, BAIC BJEV revealed plans to develop an extended-range version of the Xiangjie S9. Beyond the "four jie," Changan's Deep Blue Automobile has adopted the slogan "Left hand, Deep Blue Super Extended Range; Right hand, Huawei Kunlun Intelligence."

As deduced in previous reports, if the starting price of the new SAIC-Huawei collaborative model is brought below 200,000 yuan, it will avoid positioning conflicts with other SAIC sub-brand models. In 2025, as the sale of pure electric vehicles becomes increasingly challenging, the focus of SAIC and Huawei's collaboration may shift towards plug-in hybrids and extended range.

It's worth noting that Huawei's full-featured intelligent driving solution has yet to penetrate the market below 200,000 yuan. Yu Chengdong has also stated that the current cost cannot be lowered to that extent. Equipping the basic version of Huawei Kunlun intelligent driving on new cars priced below 200,000 yuan, similar to Deep Blue, would pose a significant challenge for SAIC to create a differentiated advantage. Raising the pricing above 200,000 yuan would also involve the issue of internal resource allocation for Hongmeng Zhixing, a concern previously highlighted by Yu Chengdong.

Furthermore, compared to plug-in hybrids, the extended-range route offers a cost advantage, which explains why the "four jie" have unanimously chosen to promote extended-range models. However, unlike BAIC's Xiangjie and Chery's Zhijie, SAIC rarely publicly discloses its layout and investment in extended-range technology.

Amidst these variables and challenges, BYD's recent launch of "National Intelligent Driving" has added another layer of complexity to this year's automotive market. Within a week of its launch, order volumes surged in multiple regions.

In 2025, automotive companies, including SAIC, will face not only a more intense price war but also a battle for mindshare in the popularization of advanced intelligent driving. As advanced intelligent driving becomes a standard feature rather than a selling point for mid-to-high-end models, a company's ability to seize the initiative will directly determine its success. It's reported that the first new car collaboratively developed by SAIC and Huawei will debut in the fourth quarter of this year, by which time new variables may have emerged in the domestic automotive market.