Huawei + Chang'an: The strongest king, the biggest game in the group?

"AVATR is Changan's high-end brand, and as long as AVATR needs it, Changan Automobile will fully support it. 」

"We want money for money, people for people, technology for technology, and I am also grateful for the empowerment of Huawei and CATL. 」

Zhu Huarong, chairman of Chang'an, thought that this statement at the listing of AVATR 12 was just an encouraging speech.

Unexpectedly, in this context, there is a big move hidden between Chang'an and Huawei.

Recently, Huawei and Changan signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to establish a new joint venture, in which Huawei intends to integrate its intelligent vehicle solutions business into the new company.

To put it simply, Huawei's car BU business is independent and will become a member of the mixed ownership system.

Huawei insists on not building cars, and its automotive business will turn a new page.

The matter of Huawei and Chang'an organizing a bureau has been rumored some time ago.

At that time, it was reported that Huawei intended to promote the independent operation of car BU, and was in close contact with the Chongqing State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission on cooperation matters, in a specific form similar to "Honor Solo Flight".

However, Huawei responded to the outside world that the rumors did not match the facts.

A week ago, there was news that the car BU will be spun off from the Huawei system, with an overall valuation of 250 billion yuan, and the largest shareholder after the change of hands is the Chongqing State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, of which Changan is the only car company to participate in the acquisition.

According to the news, Changan obtained 15% of the shares of the car BU at a price of 37.5 billion, and the armament group held about 5% of the shares.

The parties still do not admit this.

It was not until November 25 that Huawei and Changan signed the Memorandum of Understanding on Investment Cooperation, and the in-depth cooperation between the two was officially finalized.

Huawei's catch up with Chang'an, which is based on the previous cooperation on AVATAR, the two sides have been running in for a period of time, so this further in-depth cooperation should be said to be logical.

More importantly, for Huawei's own development, it has always been eager to have the support of big funders.

Central enterprises are naturally the best choice for everyone.

On the bright side, after the collapse of the mobile phone business in the past few years, Huawei needs to find another way to survive to support its huge size.

As a result, the automotive business has entered Huawei's legal eye.

According to Huawei's 2022 annual report, Huawei has invested a total of US$3 billion and a R&D team of 7,000 people since the establishment of the car BU.

However, by the end of 2022, the revenue of car BU was only 2.077 billion yuan, accounting for only 0.3% of Huawei's total revenue.

Even in the first half of this year, the revenue of car BU was only 1 billion yuan, accounting for only 0.3% of total revenue.

In this process, the smart car model, led by Wenjie, has overwhelmed the HI route through real sales results.

Although Zhixuan has won Huawei's internal "horse racing mechanism", it mainly relies on Wenjie and has not been able to meet Huawei's financial needs.

On the one hand, it is the "making ends meet" of the car BU, and on the other hand, the Mate 60 is back with the Kirin 9000s chip that supports 5G.

Huawei's HiSilicon chip business has not stopped, which is certainly worth celebrating, but it has also triggered more thinking.

In the car BU failed to support a piece of the world, who is paying for the investment that cannot be seen behind the Kirin chip?

In view of this, Huawei does need the support of big financiers.

At this time, Chang'an, as a central enterprise, stepped forward, and the "national responsibility" reflected in this is beyond doubt.

At present, Huawei and Changan have signed a memorandum of cooperation, not a formal agreement, and it is reported that the specific cooperation matters are still under negotiation and are expected to be completed within six months.

After the establishment of the joint venture in the future, Huawei's car BU can be regarded as truly independent.

So according to the glory of "flying solo", it is a clear card for new companies to embark on the road of IPO in the future to revitalize more capital.

Previously, it was reported that last year Honor sought to go public at a valuation of 45 billion.

Recently, Zhao Ming, CEO of Honor, said, "The addition of the new chairman will make the board more diverse, which is also the need of Honor in the process of moving towards the capital market." ”

"There is no target for Honor's IPO, but it will definitely choose to list in China. ”

After Honor embarks on a path, the future IPO of a new joint venture between Huawei and Changan will be able to go more smoothly.

It's just that looking back, after Huawei found Chang'an, a big financier, and became a legal husband and wife, what should they do in the world of Q&A and the intellectual world?

In February this year, Ceris and Huawei signed a deepening joint business agreement in Shenzhen, aiming to achieve production and sales of 1 million new energy vehicles by 2026.

Yu Chengdong said, "Sailis is the car company with the earliest cooperation, the deepest investment, and the largest number of product models with Huawei. 」

"The two sides have formed a good foundation for cross-border cooperation in the past, with full mutual trust, and will continue to cooperate for a long time in the future. 」

Thanks to this, Cialis did not panic.

After the official announcement of the cooperation between Huawei and Chang'an, Cialis quickly made a public statement.

As soon as he got on the field, Cialis first gave a dismount -

"At present, Sailis is the vehicle partner with the deepest cooperation, the widest range and the largest installed volume of Huawei's car BU. 」

"According to the relevant provisions of the long-term strategic cooperation agreement signed by the two parties, the strategic adjustment of Chebu will not affect the long-term strategic partnership between the two parties. 」

Celis also made it clear that "it has received an invitation to jointly invest in the target company and jointly participate in the creation of an electrified and intelligent open platform", and the company is actively discussing related matters.

As for the other side, Yu Chengdong mentioned that the new Wenjie M7 is set to exceed 100,000 units, and also spoke out to help the "little brother".

"Huawei will continue to work with Sailis to bring more and better products and services to consumers, and create 100,000 vehicles one after another!"

Returning to the new joint venture between Huawei and Changan, the two parties will separate Huawei's car BU business under the name of the new joint venture.

Among them, Changan and other related parties hold no more than 40% of the shares, and Huawei's dominant position in the new company is unshakable.

It is not difficult to see that Chang'an will occupy the position of second in command for a period of time in the future.

In addition to joining forces, the new company also proposed to "gradually open up equity cooperation to car companies with strategic cooperation value", which is one of the reasons why Cialis said to have received an invitation to cooperate.

The new company is not limited to cooperation between Changan and Huawei, it can be said that it is also an open platform and even an alliance.

From Huawei's point of view, the new company's proposition of the original car BU has not changed, and it still does not make cars, but helps car companies build good cars, and also maintains Huawei's intention to form an alliance.

In this regard, Changan and Huawei have repeatedly stated on different channels, "Huawei does not make cars." ”

The memorandum of understanding between the two parties also states that "in principle, the new company will not participate in competition with other companies. 」

There are probably two meanings in this.

One of the understandings of "not participating in peer competition" is that "Huawei does not make cars".

Another point is that Huawei's past smart car business will be merged under the new company, and Huawei cannot expand the "second smart car" under other names.

The implication is that the Wenjie and Zhijie, which are currently cooperating, should not choose to be absorbed by the new company and continue to carry out the original business.

Otherwise, it can only be terminated.

Therefore, for Celis, Chery, JAC and BAIC, which have chosen smart cars, they need to consider two issues:

1. Do you choose to "invest in China" in an all-round way?

2. What is the cost of fully investing in China?

Among them, Chang'an's role here will also be very crucial.

Although the equity of the new joint venture has not yet been fully clarified, it is only mentioned that "Changan and other related parties shall hold no more than 40% of the shares".

However, Chang'an's position as the second largest shareholder is basically a clear card.

With such a shareholder status, there is a high probability that Changan's brands will launch smart car products in the future.

As long as Chang'an is willing to hand over the leading and platform roles to Huawei and Yu Chengdong, it can be said that the Huawei label on Chang'an's system will not lose to Cialis.

Thanks to this, AVATAR, Deep Blue and even the Chang'an brand will undoubtedly become a beneficiary.

At the same time, as Changan is the biggest beneficiary, how much cake it is willing to give up will also affect the decision-making of other smart car partner car companies.

In terms of fundamentals, Changan, as the biggest supporter of Huawei's car BU independence, should be the biggest beneficiary.

Then in the future, it seems that Chang'an will use the best, most advanced, and even the lowest cost Huawei technology, which seems to be a matter of course.

It's just that if Changan gets all the benefits, won't other car companies that will have shares in the new company be restricted everywhere in the future?

In addition, since Changan is the second largest shareholder of the joint venture, Huawei's selection of cooperative car companies must also be approved by Changan.

Who will get the unanimous consent of Changan and Huawei to gain access?

How many shares can the accessor buy, and how much power can they enjoy?

In a "polyamorous relationship", these may be difficult to tell.

This is not only a test of the determination of the smart car partner car companies to fully invest in China, but also a test of the mutual trust between Huawei and Changan, and at the same time, it is also questioning Changan's "sincerity in making profits".

It is worth mentioning that in the past, Chang'an's senior management has also publicly said, "AVATAR's CHN is a public platform, not only within the Chang'an system, but also shared with the society. 」

At least for the time being, CHN has no other partners.

In the final analysis, is Changan's support for Huawei more just for itself to become the "new king of the industry"?

Or is Changan willing to take more of the role of financial investment, starting from the overall situation of the country, and drive more state-owned enterprises to invest in China as a central enterprise, so as to help Huawei become the industry's No. 1 Tier 1 supplier?

The deviation of thinking in this will also affect the fate of other car companies that cooperate with Huawei.

However, there is no doubt that after receiving the capital injection, Huawei will further play the role of "industry integrator" and promote a new round of reshuffle in the automotive industry.

In terms of state support for "concentrating on big things", SOEs will probably be the first to take the initiative to integrate.

As for the passive shuffle, it is naturally the small soldiers in the market.

Due to the evolution of the world situation, Huawei has entered the automotive industry with a bit of a "forced" component.

At the same time, due to its own business development needs and the country's expectations for Huawei's R&D strength, Huawei can only achieve the first position in the industry.

Only in this way can Huawei achieve a positive cycle of R&D investment and business chain.

In other words, Huawei's business and capital are "forced" to become bigger and stronger.

Among them, Chang'an itself has the characteristics of a military background, which is somewhat sensitive to Huawei, which was still expanding overseas markets in the past.

However, from the return of the Kirin 9000s chip to Chang'an's investment, it can be said that the things that were sensitive before are not important now.

The polarization between China and the United States is difficult to reverse, and this is not just a news broadcast that appears in the news, but is destined to affect all aspects.

Judging from Huawei's actions, such differentiation and impact are accelerating.