(Yicai) Feb. 26 -- Avatr Technology, the smart electric vehicle brand of Changan Automobile, and Huawei Technologies are deepening their partnership, with the Chinese tech giant to get more deeply involved in the development process of the carmaker's new models.

The collaborative approach between Avatr and Huawei has been upgraded to Huawei Inside Plus, Chen Zhuo, the automaker’s president, told Yicai. That is a step up from Huawei Inside, in which Huawei mainly provides intelligent driving technology and components.

Shenzhen-based Huawei has three partnership approaches with carmakers: vertical parts supplier; intelligent systems supplier via Huawei Inside; and full-set solutions supplier through Huawei Smart Selection. The third has been the most successful so far, while the others are yet to achieve significant commercial success.

Huawei will be involved in all aspects of new auto development, from product definition and user research to marketing and launch, Chen noted, adding that Avatr and Huawei have also set up a joint project team with about 300 Huawei employees.

“If there is only one intelligent driving system in China that can compete with Tesla in the future, it must be that of Huawei,” Chen said. “This is why Avatr and Huawei are deepening their cooperation.”

Last August, Avatr became the first automaker to invest in Huawei's intelligent driving unit Yinwang Technology, buying a 10 percent stake for CNY11.5 billion (USD1.58 billion). It was set up in January 2024.

Tesla’s Chinese unit said yesterday that the EV giant will upgrade its autopilot feature in China to bring its local offering closer to the Full Self-Driving suite available in the United States.

Chen also said he is not concerned about the impact of deeper cooperation with Huawei on Avatr's operational independence because future smart driving technologies will become increasingly standardized and modular.

Chongqing-based Avatr launched its new 07 Pro + sport utility vehicle this month, making it the company’s only intelligent model with three smart driving solutions: triple laser, single laser, and main vision, all of which were provided by Huawei.

"Avatr aims to achieve monthly break-even within this year and annual break-even next year," Chen said, adding that the firm needs to accelerate its sales growth to achieve this goal.

Avatr’s sales topped 74,000 vehicles last year, though the company has set a target of 220,000 for this year, including 15,000 sale overseas, as a result of plans to launch several new models, Chen noted.

Changan Auto is Avatr's largest shareholder, with a 41 percent stake. Chinese power battery giant Contemporary Amperex Technology is next, with 14.1 percent.

Editors: Tang Shihua, Martin Kadiev