Yang Yunfei 1017800664@qq.com SERES Group, one of Huawei Technologies’ key partners in the automotive sector, said late Tuesday that it plans to acquire trademarks and patents held by Huawei and its affiliates. Chongqing-based automaker Seres said in a statement that its subsidiary Seres Auto Co. will pay Huawei and its related parties as much as 2.5 billion yuan (US$344 million) for 919 pieces of registered or pending text and graphic trademarks as well as 44 exterior design patents related to premium electric vehicle brand Aito. Shanghai-listed Seres said that the deal will not change its current cooperation with Huawei and instead the transfer of brand assets will ensure Aito’s long-term prospects, vowing to further deepen its cooperative relationship with Huawei. Meanwhile, Shenzhen-based tech giant Huawei said that it will continue to support Seres in manufacturing and selling Aito cars with its advanced smart car technology. In the statement, Huawei once again reiterated its commitment to not making cars on its own, but rather leveraging its advanced technology to support auto companies in the production and sale of vehicles. Huawei started to pivot to the auto sector to diversify its revenue sources after rounds of U.S. sanctions since 2019 have cut off the firm from global supply chains for American components and once took a toll on its consumer business, particularly smartphones. The tech heavyweight made inroads into electric vehicles and unveiled its Huawei HI intelligent automotive solution in April 2021. The system comprises a computing system, 4D imaging radar, an autonomous driving platform and intelligent thermal management. But Huawei has repeatedly said it is a components provider rather than a manufacturer of cars, describing itself as just a partner to carmakers. The firm aims to be a major supplier of the smart software powering next-generation electric vehicles as its strengths are in software, cloud services and communications technology, Yu Chengdong, Huawei’s executive director, once said. Industry analysts say Huawei’s repeated assurances are aimed to mitigate concerns of carmakers that the company could become a rival. The first new brand launched by Huawei in partnership with a carmaker, Aito is a premium electric vehicle brand launched by Seres with Huawei in December, 2021 and has already released models including the M5, M7 and M9. Yu said Huawei’s auto business turned profitable in the first quarter this year, partly due to strong sales from the Aito series. Aito reported record monthly sales in June after it shipped 42,780 units, a staggering increase of 654.76% compared with the same period a year ago and up 57.76% from a month ago. For the first half of the year, the brand’s total deliveries reached 180,827 units, trailing the 188,981 by Beijing-headquartered Li Auto, the only electric vehicle startup in China that has managed to turn a profit. In addition to Aito, Huawei has also teamed up with domestic auto firms such as Chery Automobile, JAC Motors and BAIC Motor to launch more brands in China’s rapidly evolving electric vehicle market. | 