GAC Group discontinues joint development with Huawei on AH8 project

Shanghai (Gasgoo)- On Mar. 27, GAC Group announced that its board of directors has approved the proposal that allows its subsidiary, GAC AION, to independently develop the “AH8” project, rather than the joint development with Huawei agreed previously.

Upon the completion of the business change, Huawei will continue to participate in the development of the models under GAC Group’s self-owned brands as an important supplier, according to the announcement.

In addition, GAC Group also stated that the total investment in the AH8 project has been adjusted from 924.73 million yuan to 1,233.42 million yuan, with the funding being self-raised.

GAC AION's Hyper GT; photo credit: GAC AION

On July 9, 2021, GAC Group officially announced a joint project with Huawei, as the two firms would work together to develop a “smart SUV”, aiming to hit the market in mass production by the end of 2023. This strategic cooperation would allow them to build a new generation of intelligent vehicles and digital platforms. This SUV and multiple other future models would utilize GAC’s GEP.30 chassis platform and Huawei’s CCA (Computing and Communication Architecture).

The collaboration means that GAC Group would become one of the car companies to adopt the Huawei Inside (HI) model, namely, using Huawei's full-stack intelligent car solutions.

The recent announcement indicates GAC Group’s resolution to grasp the core technologies to smart electric vehicles in its own hands. The automaker is working on in-house development of batteries and constructing battery factories. The building of its own R&D system for EV-related core technologies, domain controller, and intelligent cockpit is also underway.