Huawei is to spend more than $10 billion (£7.4bn) on research and development into smart driving technologies over the next five years, as part of a broader expansion of funding into the sector including spending on computing power for AI training, an executive said.
The company, whose core businesses include telecommunications equipment and smartphones, is to spend 18bn yuan (£2bn) globally on smart driving R&D this year, including 10bn yuan on computing resources, senior vice president Jin Yuzhi told Reuters.
Smart driving
Jin spoke in Beijing on Thursday ahead of the Beijing Auto Show, China’s largest auto show, which begins on Friday.
Huawei has emerged as a key supplier in China’s EV sector, including providing smart driving and intelligent cockpit technologies to high-end brands from China, Germany and Japan.
At the event on Thursday, a total of 38 vehicle models with Huawei’s technologies were on display, including four Audi models and Toyota’s BZ7, which was co-developed with Guangzhou Automobile.
At the event, Huawei showed its Qiankun ADS advanced driver-assistance system, which is to debut in the X9 six-seater SUV under the Epicland brand that Huawei co-developed with Dongfeng Motor.
Growing revenue
The arrangement is similar to the partnership behind the successful Aito car brand that Huawei has developed with manufacturing partner Seres since 2021.
In the Chinese domestic market, the world’s largest, Aito has risen into the top ranks of high-end vehicles of all fuel types, alongside other domestic brands such as Geely’s Zeekr and Li Auto, outpacing German automakers such as BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Audi.
Huawei’s automotive-related revenue jumped 72 percent in 2025 to 45bn yuan, making it the company’s fastest-growing segment.
