(Yicai) Feb. 1 -- The first intelligent electric vehicle model developed by the Chinese telecoms giant Huawei Technologies and carmaker Jianghui Automobile Group, better known as JAC Motors, is a luxury sedan, not a multi-purposed vehicle, according to an insider.

The EV, expected to have similar specifications as the BMW 7 Series, will be priced from CNY1 million (USD140 million) and officially launch in the fourth quarter of this year, the insider told Yicai yesterday.

JAC Motors and Huawei will produce the EV at a new plant in China's eastern Anhui province, which is under construction and almost completed, the insider noted.

Volkswagen-backed JAC Motors announced its partnership with Huawei in early December, confirming rumors that had been circulating for several months. Back then, JAC Motors said the pair would co-develop luxury connected-automated EVs based on the smart car solutions provided by Huawei, which would also be the exclusive global sales service provider for their collaborative model.

However, JAC Motors' announcement at the time did not provide additional details, including the car models and their market positioning.

Huawei has three approaches when partnering with carmakers: vertical parts supplier, intelligent systems provider through the Huawei Inside partnership model, and full-set solutions provider via the Huawei Smart Selection business model. The third approach has been the most successful so far, while the first two have yet to achieve significant commercial results.

Huawei's collaboration with JAC Motors falls in the third category, the one with the most intense cooperation. Also Seres Group, Chery Automobile, and BAIC BluePark New Energy Technology are cooperating with Huawei under this business model.

The vehicle models of each carmaker using Huawei's full-set solutions occupy a different market segment in terms of luxury level to help prevent potential conflict of interest among the partners, the insider noted. For example, the Luxeed S7, developed by Huawei and Chery Auto, the executive car developed by Huawei and BAIC BluePark, and the new luxury sedan developed by Huawei and JAC Motors, have different price ranges.

Editors: Tang Shihua, Futura Costaglione