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Huawei is still not out of the hot seat with the American government. President Biden has continued the Trump era ban on the company, but that doesn’t seem to be stopping the Chinese tech giant from moving forward. An executive at Huawei stated that the company is in the works of developing a completely driverless passenger car. Huawei’s self-driving car won’t be out for some time, however.
Plans for Huawei’s self-driving car are still in the beginning stages
This story was spotted by Gizmochina. Most people outside of China know Huawei as a premium smartphone manufacturer. Because of this, many people think that the US sanction that was placed on the company last year spells “Game Over.” The reality is that Huawei is one of the largest tech companies in the world. It manufactures a multitude of electronic devices and components for different markets.
The next market that Huawei is looking to make a splash in is the self-driving car market. The executive, Wuan Jun, said that they want to ‘reach true driverless passenger cars in 2025.” Now, it’s hard to say whether they plan to have a consumer product on the roads by 2025 or merely have the groundwork done by then. In any case, we can bet that the company has zero plans on launching any of their cars in the states.
It seems that self-driving car technology is a hot topic for tech companies nowadays. Companies like Tesla, Google, LG, and Xiaomi, just to name a few, are investing in the technology in some way. It’s unclear just what aspect of self-driving cars Huawei is focusing on. The company will undoubtedly have to partner with an existing car manufacturer to put their car together.
The software powering the car may possibly already exist
Huawei’s self-driving car may very well be another conduit to showcase Harmony OS. The company recently stated that it plans to launch the operating system to over 100 devices by 2022. While it’s software that we’re going to be seeing hit phones and tablets first, the company plans on having it exist across different types of devices. This includes devices like smartwatches, smart displays, and smart TVs.
This is, of course, speculation so take this with a grain of salt. The current situation that it’s facing with America has forced the company to make some tough decisions. Huawei had to quickly develop an entire operating system in order to keep its smartphone business from imploding. The company’s shift to self-driving cars is most likely a side-effect of the sanctions. As more companies dive into the self-driving car market, it’ll be exciting to see Huawei’s own take on the technology.