BUSINESS

Huawei’s EV Strategy Falters as Xiaomi Gains Ground in China

Published: Jun. 3, 2025 5:08 p.m. GMT+8

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Just as Huawei and Xiaomi have long vied for supremacy in the smartphone market, their rivalry has spilled into the EV space. Photo: Huawei, Xiaomi

Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd.’s electric vehicle (EV) strategy is coming under pressure as Xiaomi Corp.’s debut car gains traction with consumers and narrows the sales gap.

Just as these companies have long vied for supremacy in the smartphone market, their rivalry has spilled into the EV space. Xiaomi’s debut model launched last year, the SU7 electric sedan, has rapidly gained traction with consumers, challenging Huawei’s more established auto alliance, the Harmony Intelligent Mobility Alliance (HIMA).

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Xiaomi's SU7 EV has gained traction, challenging Huawei's auto alliance. In April, Xiaomi sold 28,585 vehicles to Huawei's 27,555, but Huawei led in May with 44,454 sales versus Xiaomi's over 28,000.
Xiaomi's strategy leverages brand recognition, while Huawei uses a multi-partner "deep cooperation" model under its HarmonyOS ecosystem, notably with the Aito brand.
Huawei faces challenges including slow brand building for new partners, Aito's sales dominance creating vulnerability, and internal competition diluting its branding.

AI generated, for reference only

Who’s Who

Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd.: Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. engages in the electric vehicle (EV) market through a "deep cooperation model" under its Harmony Intelligent Mobility Alliance (HIMA), partnering with automakers like Seres (Aito), Chery (Luxeed), and BAIC (Stelato). Huawei controls design, technology, and quality. While it faces fierce competition and sales fluctuations with rivals like Xiaomi, its main challenge is building brand recognition for its auto alliance without being able to use the Huawei logo directly on its models.

Xiaomi Corp.: Xiaomi Corp.'s debut SU7 electric sedan, launched last year, has rapidly gained traction with consumers in the EV market, challenging Huawei. Xiaomi outsold Huawei for the first time in April with 28,585 vehicle sales. Its success is heavily driven by strong brand recognition and marketing power, according to Huawei's chairman, highlighting a different strategy compared to Huawei's multi-partner approach.

Seres Group Co. Ltd.: Seres Group Co. Ltd. (601127.SH) is a key partner in Huawei's electric vehicle strategy, co-developing the flagship EV brand Aito. Formerly a little-known EV maker, Seres transformed under this partnership due to its aggressive execution, investing significantly in marketing, after-sales service, and even covering consumer losses, which boosted Aito's reputation and early success.

Chery Automobile Co. Ltd.: Chery Automobile Co. Ltd. is mentioned as a partner in Huawei’s Harmony Intelligent Mobility Alliance (HIMA). Under this deep cooperation model, Chery collaborates with Huawei on the Luxeed brand. While Aito (with Seres Group) has seen significant success, other HIMA brands, including Luxeed with Chery, have not yet matched Aito's sales performance.

BAIC BluePark New Energy Technology Co. Ltd.: BAIC BluePark New Energy Technology Co. Ltd. (600733.SH) is a partner in Huawei's Harmony Intelligent Mobility Alliance. Under this deep cooperation model, they jointly produce vehicles under the "Stelato" brand. Stelato is one of several brands within the alliance, though its sales haven't matched the success of the Aito brand.

Anhui Jianghuai Automobile Group Corp. Ltd.: Anhui Jianghuai Automobile Group Corp. Ltd. (JAC) is a partner with Huawei under its Harmony Intelligent Mobility Alliance (HIMA). It manufactures the Maextro brand of electric vehicles within this deep cooperation model. However, the sales of the Maextro brand have not matched those of Aito, Huawei's leading EV brand in partnership with Seres Group.

SAIC Motor Corp. Ltd.: State-owned SAIC Motor Corp. Ltd. (600104.SH) is partnering with Huawei to establish "Shangjie," the fifth brand under Huawei's auto alliance. This collaboration will debut its first model this fall.

Shenzhen Yinwang Intelligent Technology Co. Ltd.: Shenzhen Yinwang Intelligent Technology Co. Ltd. is a new company spun off from Huawei's main auto unit. It forms separate alliances with other automakers and promotes new EV models that utilize Huawei hardware. Its existence may contribute to internal competition and dilute the branding strength of Huawei's Harmony Intelligent Mobility Alliance.

AI generated, for reference only

What Happened When

2021：: Huawei launched its 'Smart Selection' initiative, from which its deep cooperation model with automakers for EVs emerged.

Last year (2024)：: Xiaomi launched its debut EV model, the SU7 electric sedan.

April 2025：: Xiaomi outsold Huawei for the first time, with 28,585 vehicles sold versus Huawei’s 27,555, according to the China Passenger Car Association.

April 2025：: Aito’s latest model, the M8, was launched by Huawei’s auto alliance.

May 2025：: Huawei reclaimed the EV sales top spot, with its auto alliance network selling 44,454 vehicles, while Xiaomi reported sales of over 28,000.