(Yicai Global) March 28 -- GAC Aion, the electric vehicle marque of Chinese carmaker GAC Group, plans to terminate its partnership with tech giant Huawei Technologies and develop its own smart car solution.

GAC Aion will no longer use Huawei’s full-stack smart car solution and smart cockpit, its parent company announced yesterday. The automaker also plans to increase its investment in the field to CNY1.2 billion (USD174.4 million) from CNY925 million (USD134.4 million), GAC added.

GAC announced in July 2021 that GAC Aion and Huawei would co-build a series of smart cars equipped with the latter’s Huawei Inside solution. The CNY788 million project was scheduled to begin mass production of their first co-developed model, a mid-to-large all-electric sports utility vehicle, by the end of this year.

After the partnership ends, Shenzhen-based Huawei will continue to participate in the development of GAC’s models as a key supplier, the carmaker noted.

Huawei is a big name supplier, but its prices are out of control, Xiao Yong, vice general manager at GAC Aion, said at a forum last August. There is no possibility of negotiating on prices, he added.

“I don’t think cooperating with Huawei will give us the ability to go premium, and Huawei cannot give brands everything,” 21st Century Business Herald cited a GAC senior executive as saying. “It’s okay to join hands with Huawei on autonomous driving, but relying on it isn’t okay, as we still need to depend on ourselves.”

Huawei Inside is a full-stack smart car solution that includes chips, hardware, sensors, laser radar, cameras, automated driving systems, car-mounted computers, software, and cloud services. It has already been used on Chinese automaker BAIC Group’s Arcfox αS HBT and the Avatr 11, an SUV developed by Changan Automobile, Contemporary Amperex Technology, and Huawei.

Editor: Futura Costaglione