The fierce battle among the 9 series is underway, and Dongfeng Huawei has bet on a new brand.
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Author | Zhou Zhiyu
The year 2025 marks a boom for the large six-seater SUV market. According to incomplete statistics from Wallstreetcn, by 2025, there are nearly 70 large six-seater SUV models on sale in this segment, with sales numbers almost doubling.
Automakers are all eager to seize this opportunity. At the 2026 Beijing Auto Show, more than a dozen new 9-series models debuted at the same time. NIO ES9, Xpeng GX, WEY V9X, Leapmotor D19... Everyone wants a share of the high gross margin flagship SUV segment. However, apart from Li Auto L9 and Aito M9, fewer than ten models have stable monthly sales exceeding 5,000 units; success stories are few.
Right at this moment, a brand-new brand has arrived.
On April 24, Dongfeng and Huawei’s Qiankun jointly launched the Yijing brand with its first model, Yijing X9, unveiled at the Beijing Auto Show. At the 500,000 yuan level, a large six-seater SUV, it plans to start pre-sales in August and launch in September. The “fully equipped with Huawei” Yijing X9 is the first 9-series model under Huawei’s “Jing” lineup. Their first car is a flagship, making Yijing’s ambition clear. A Yijing project staff member...
But in the most crowded racetrack, the most brutal knockout round, what will this new player rely on to stir things up?
One Step to the Top
The most distinct product strategy for Yijing X9 is full-range standard configuration.
ADS5, 896-line lidar, Qiankun Chitu platform – all standard across the lineup. Yijing X9 is also among the first models to feature these.
As a new brand, the trick of lowering entry-level prices with stripped-down models is meaningless in the 500,000 yuan segment. Full-range standard configuration is essentially using hardware costs to boost brand awareness, letting people who walk into the showroom be shocked by the specs first, then consider the brand.
A Yijing project technician revealed that all the latest Huawei technologies have been equipped in the vehicle.
Size is the first trump card in their flagship strategy. The vehicle is 5,301 mm long, with a wheelbase of 3,120 mm. Huawei Smart Car Solution BU CEO Jin Yuzhi made a comparison: “Only the NIO ES9 just released a few days ago exceeded 5.3 meters; currently, Yijing X9 ranks second.”
With three rows occupied, the trunk has a depth of 600 mm, and a volume of 484 liters. Competing products in the same class mostly only have 520-540 mm. This allows a stroller to be loaded without folding when six people are seated, fitting straight into the trunk.
Safety is where this car bets the most confidently.
The body uses 2,400 MPa ultra-high strength steel, with high-strength steel and aluminum alloy accounting for over 92%. The Yijing project tech personnel disclosed that R&D on this material began in August 2024, in collaboration with top material suppliers, taking 18 months to solve the full chain process.
The battery uses lithium iron phosphate, not ternary lithium. This comes at a cost. LFP is heavier, larger in size, placing extra stress on the chassis.
Another Yijing project technician revealed that the team almost gave up halfway. LFP batteries are heavier and larger, requiring a higher chassis standard, but after comprehensive consideration, they persisted with LFP.
The cost is weight. The whole vehicle is 2.7 tons; pure electric version is 2.8 tons, heavier than NIO ES9's 2.6 tons. The 2,400MPa ultra strength steel and all-aluminum chassis are also serving weight reduction functions.
Performance-wise, extreme power was deliberately not pursued. 4WD does 0-100 km/h in 5 seconds, 2WD in under 8 seconds. Saved budget is invested in chassis tuning and the cabin.
The cabin's “Huawei content” centers around several first-release technologies. Jin Yuzhi highlighted Huawei’s self-developed in-car laser projection, using LCoS technology designed at the Wuhan chip factory, with 2000:1 contrast and 98% color gamut. The dual 17.2-inch butterfly screens up front are a first in China’s automotive industry. For the rear seats, there are two options: laser projection or a 14-inch soft light screen. A Yijing project technician explained this was designed to address the complexity of family users.
Deep Cooperation with Huawei
The true differentiation of Yijing lies in its cooperation model.
Huawei’s cooperation with automakers has evolved through two generations. Component supply mode, Hi mode, and the Smart Selection mode—with deep involvement in sales and brand operations. Aito, Jiejie, Xiangjie, Zunjie are all products of the Smart Selection mode, where Huawei holds dominant channel say.
The “Jing” mode to which Yijing belongs is an upgrade of the Hi mode.
Compared to Hi mode, Huawei’s involvement is much deeper—not only providing technical solutions but also bringing in IPD/IPMS process management systems, fully participating in product definition, quality control, and marketing strategy. Compared to Smart Selection mode, brand and channel leadership returns to the automaker. Yijing is Dongfeng’s own brand.
Yijing Automotive Brand General Manager Zeng Qinglin used an analogy to distinguish this.
“One possibility is grafting, like a grafted growth relationship. But we are cultivation, nurturing from the seed.” He told Wallstreetcn that the saplings bred this way are stronger, more fully integrating the abilities of both sides.
He is also candid about Dongfeng’s self-assessment: “Dongfeng is technically rich but clumsy, not good at marketing. Technical strength is deep, but only knows how to work on fundamentals.” Collaborating with Huawei is both to fuse the best hardware and software, and to bring Huawei’s user insights and hit-product methods. To tell Dongfeng’s story well.
The analogy aside, what does “all-stack native co-creation” really mean? A detail illustrates this.
During chassis tuning, Huawei Qiankun digital chassis demanded rear wheel response drop from 80 ms to 50 ms. Most automakers can’t change hardware at this stage. But Yijing was co-defined from the platform architecture stage, and the Dongfeng team achieved 52 ms. Yijing Automotive Chairman Wang Junjun said, “Huawei’s team thought it was excellent. We blended software and hardware well, which is the greatest value of the joint team.”
Zeng Qinglin put it more directly, “Others are Huawei inside, we are Huawei born with, innate.”
As for AITO, Yijing has its own positioning. AITO M9 for high-end business, Huawei Qiankun Yijing X9 for family flagship.
One for business, one for family—in management’s narrative, it’s not internal competition, but dual-line coverage.
With other “Jing” models, technology is shared, configuration is matched, differentiation comes from each OEM’s accumulation. Zeng Qinglin said Yijing will leverage Dongfeng’s strengths in chassis, safety, and technical accumulation.
The cards are laid out, but whether the market will buy in is another matter.
Survival Rules of the Flagship War
In 2025, yearly sales of large six-seater SUVs surpass 1 million units. It was fewer than 200,000 in 2020—a near fivefold jump in five years.
All automakers vie to squeeze into this segment. There are various reasons—according to Wallstreetcn, large SUVs generally have higher gross margins than compacts, at least ten percentage points higher.
But the cake is not distributed evenly. Of nearly 70 large six-seater SUVs for sale, over 30 have monthly sales below 1,000. The winning players either have Huawei traffic and first-mover advantage, or have precisely defined family needs and keep iterating.
A new brand seeking a slice of this market must answer three questions: Is the product strong enough? Is the channel spread broad enough? Where does brand recognition come from?
Product-wise, on paper, the Yijing X9 is top-tier. Full-range ADS5, 2,400 MPa ultra strength steel, Huawei self-developed laser projection—doesn’t lose out to any competitor. But product strength is only a ticket to enter. At the 2026 Auto Show, every new 9-series model piles on flagship specs. When smart driving, air suspension, and rear seat screens become standard, differentiation shifts from specs to experience. Fineness in chassis tuning, fluid cabin interaction, quick after-sales response—these are hardest for new brands to perfect quickly.
Channels are not slow. Yijing plans over 300 stores in 79 cities, with more than 70 user centers in the first batch. Zeng Qinglin said 80% are from original BBA (BMW, Benz, Audi) dealers, over 60% are top 100 dealers. Another Yijing project staff confirmed to Wallstreetcn, “All Yijing channels are fully new recruits, brand-new, and follow Huawei’s standards.”
The shortfall is in store traffic. AITO has built-in customer flow from Huawei stores. Customers instinctively look at AITO when visiting Huawei stores. Yijing has to handle this independently.
The ambiguity of identity is an unavoidable brand challenge in the “Jing” mode.
Zeng Qinglin’s assessment of market competition is clear: “The good sellers are basically those with good value and performance. Low quality and low price won’t work.” He summarized the competitive strategy in one phrase: “Continuously add value.”
Asked for the single core selling point for Yijing, Zeng Qinglin thought and said: “Tech-geeks of the Huawei camp, technology far ahead.”
This is an ambitious positioning—not searching for differentiation within the Dongfeng system, but striving to claim the “tech leader” label within the whole Huawei cooperative ecosystem.
The 2026 9-series battle will be a brutal selection. Over a dozen flagship SUVs will flood a highly centralized market; ultimately only three to five brands may stand firm. Yijing X9 has shown its cards, but with pre-sale in August and market launch in September, it will face a crowd of rivals delivered for months or even years.
But Zeng Qinglin is very confident, saying, the 2,400 MPa shown today is just an appetizer. The main course is yet to come. Huawei has many deep technologies unannounced—hidden cabin tech, chassis, safety—all set to be revealed step by step.
Suspense and time lag remain. For a new brand, time is both enemy and ally. The premise is that when the main course is served, guests are still at the table.
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