Huawei and Dongfeng have become even closer.
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Author | Zhou Zhiyu
Huawei’s rotating chairman Xu Zhijun recently paid another visit to Dongfeng Motor.
The last visit was in May 2025, when the two parties signed a comprehensive deepening strategic cooperation agreement at the group level. This time, the cooperation has further gone down to the brands: Dongfeng’s Yijing and Mengshi each signed a Strategic Cooperation 2.0 Agreement with Invo Automotive Intelligence Co.
Xu Zhijun’s visiting the same automaker twice in one year is rare in the history of Huawei's smart car business partnerships. Even rarer are his actions after the signing: he personally test-rode the Yijing X9, awarded the co-creation team of Huawei Qiankun and Yijing the title of "Gold Medal Team", and visited the Dongfeng R&D headquarters with Invo’s CEO Jin Yuzhi.
From 1.0 to 2.0, the nature of the cooperation has changed. The core of the 1.0 stage was Dongfeng introducing Huawei’s management methodology, aligning processes first; 2.0 moves into joint product definition and dual-brand binding. In Huawei Qiankun’s collaborative map, Dongfeng is currently the most deeply penetrated partner.
According to plan, the first Yijing model, X9, is scheduled for launch in the third quarter this year, entering the market alongside Qijing GT7. Huawei Qiankun’s new strategic path beyond Harmony Intelligent Mobility is about to face its first round of market tests.
Upgrade
Public impressions of Huawei and Dongfeng's cooperation mostly stop at “Dongfeng uses Huawei’s smart driving and cockpit technologies”. But the origin of this relationship predates mere technological integration.
According to Wallstreet.cn, the core of the 1.0 phase was Huawei exporting its IPD (Integrated Product Development) and IPMS (Integrated Product Marketing & Service) process systems to Dongfeng. Huawei opened up its process methodology, while Dongfeng systematically reinvented its operation in product definition and marketing services.
This is Huawei's most core management asset. Sharing it with a partner means aligning management language and operational logic first.
Change processes first, then develop products. The sequence is crucial.
By 2.0, cooperation moved from process alignment to product co-creation. Wallstreet.cn notes 2.0’s keywords are “joint definition, deep empowerment, and ecosystem win-win”—Huawei now deeply participates in the entire chain, from product definition, design and R&D, manufacturing, to marketing, rather than just providing technological solutions for Dongfeng’s adaptation.
This depth is evident in the Yijing X9. ADS 5 smart driving, Harmony cockpit, XMC digital chassis engine, 896-line lidar, and full vehicle optical solutions are all standard—no pared-down options, no selection packages. Jin Yuzhi remarked at Auto China that Yijing is the latest, most comprehensive, and unreserved embodiment of Huawei Qiankun technology. Yijing chairman Wang Junjun emphasized that the partnership goes beyond the product to fully integrating at the development and technical levels.
For ADS 5 to fully unleash its potential, it requires not retrofitting current models, but a vehicle natively matched from powertrain to chassis. The Yijing X9 is built on this logic: native data closed loop, seamless integration between hardware and software, no “external attachments” or “adapters”. Both parties did not simply graft onto a finished product, but started co-creating from the ground up.
Hundreds of billions in funding, a joint team of over 5,000 people, and three years of preparation have led to a burst of progress at the landing phase.
And it's not just Yijing. According to Wallstreet.cn, Dongfeng’s Mengshi brand also signed a 2.0 agreement with Invo. The synchronized signing with Mengshi means Huawei’s layout within Dongfeng is broader than the public perceives.
Channel development also follows high-end standards. Yijing plans to establish over 300 stores in 79 cities, 80% of which previously dealt in luxury brands, and over 60% are among China’s top 100 dealers. For a new brand yet to deliver a single car, this channel setup is in itself a statement.
The contracting party is also noteworthy. The 2.0 agreement is with Invo Automotive Intelligence—a standalone entity formed after Huawei spun off its car BU, with Changan already invested through Avatr. By signing with Invo, Dongfeng embeds its partnership in Invo’s commercial landscape. Whether Dongfeng will also invest in Invo remains a key variable for the next step.
A close partner commented, “Dongfeng Group was the earliest to collaborate with Huawei Qiankun.” In terms of timing, coverage, and depth, Dongfeng is now ahead among all the car companies partnered with Huawei Qiankun.
Playing Cards
Huawei Qiankun has now partnered with 25 car brands, launching over 50 models, with ADS smart driving cumulatively installed on more than 1.7 million vehicles. In terms of scaling, no other third-party smart driving supplier in China matches it.
Among these 25 partners, most use component-level or standardized solutions. Huawei provides a general tech package, and carmakers adapt and tune it. Jin Yuzhi says Qiankun aims to be the “electronic screw” of smart cars, bringing intelligence to every vehicle.
The screw model is quick for scale, but has natural limitations. As ever more cars come with the same Huawei smart driving, brands struggle to differentiate, and consumers find it harder to tell who’s a deep partner versus who just installs a few parts.
Huawei Qiankun needs breadth—the ability to deploy everywhere—but also a showcase that lays out the full toolbox, letting the market see the uncompromised release of a full-stack solution and how much it can elevate a vehicle.
Harmony Intelligent Mobility and Huawei Qiankun work in parallel. An insider likened them to different military branches fighting the same war but using distinct tactics.
Harmony Intelligent Mobility has already proven itself in part. But a Qiankun insider told Wallstreet.cn that with over 20 million passenger cars sold in China annually, Harmony won’t be enough; Qiankun needs to take its own step forward.
Each system has strengths. Harmony, deriving from the Consumer BG, excels in cockpit ecosystems and big screen interactions, with mobile application advantages transferrable to car systems. Qiankun focuses on smart driving, chassis control, and sensor hardware, supporting Harmony from a “half-step behind”.
The once much-discussed HI model has now been deprecated within Huawei. An insider revealed that some “Jing” brands on the market are essentially component suppliers, distinct from today's Jing, and “consumers actually don’t know”.
“Jing” is a Qiankun hands-on product: deep involvement from IPD processes to product definition to channel development, but brand ownership and sales stay with the carmaker. In a sense, the Jing series is Qiankun’s product beacon, with Yijing and Qijing showing the height full-stack solutions can achieve without limitations.
For Qijing, hundreds of Huawei staff are based in Guangzhou, with Ren Zhengfei himself naming the brand. For Yijing, Xu Zhijun visited twice in one year, and terminal executives have been transferred to operate. For the two Jing brands, resource allocation is already at the highest level within Qiankun.
Dongfeng needs this relationship too. In 2026, Dongfeng targets 3.25 million total sales, and 1.7 million NEVs, aiming to raise the NEV share from less than one-third to over one-half. Achieving this leap through Dongfeng’s own intelligence capabilities is difficult; Qiankun’s full-stack solution and brand pull are the most practical accelerators.
But having the resources doesn’t guarantee outcomes.
The Yijing X9 is targeting the 500,000 RMB large six-seater SUV segment—one of the most fiercely contested niches. Nearly 70 models are available, with fewer than 10 selling over 5,000 units a month; Ideal L9 and Aito M9 take most of the profitability and visibility.
Yijing GM Zeng Qinglin has declared a goal of “top 3 among the 9 series flagships”. The tech parameters are strong, but whether a new brand can convince consumers that it deserves this position is harder than building a good car.
Beyond the five, Changan has Avatr, GAC has Qijing, Dongfeng has Yijing and Mengshi, and other car companies have adopted Huawei Qiankun to varying degrees. Huawei is deploying itself to every mainstream automaker at different depths. When everyone adopts Huawei’s tech, competition’s variables are no longer “whether you have Huawei”, but “how deep is your integration with Huawei, and how well is the collaboration”.
From this perspective, the upgrade between Dongfeng and Huawei goes beyond a single car or brand. It points to a new kind of OEM-supplier relationship forming in China’s auto industry, where tech companies are no longer just parts suppliers but intervene through the entire chain—from process, product, to brand. Traditional automakers cede some definitional power in exchange for rapid smartification.
But deep integration doesn’t necessarily mean strong sales. With the Yijing X9 launching in Q3, the window for a brand-new brand to build consumer trust in the 500,000 RMB segment is not spacious.
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