The rise of China's new energy vehicles has made it difficult for traditional car giants to sit on their seats. China Exportsemi has just written an analysis of this trend not long ago (Global Car Companies Will Be Reshuffled: Starting with Honda Nissan's Official Announcement), and today there is another news, according to the future car Daily report, Honda and Huawei are actively discussing cooperation intentions in the field of intelligent driving technology, and it is expected that Huawei's intelligent driving solutions are expected to be applied in "Ye" brand cars. So today we continue to delve into the background, industry trends, and potential impact of this event, and provide observations and comments from China Exportsemi.
The transformation and breakthrough of Japanese car companies: from "banding together" to "clinging to Huawei for support".
The automotive industry in 2025 is destined to be full of disruption and reshaping. Under the wave of intelligence and electrification, traditional car companies are facing huge challenges, especially Japanese car companies represented by Honda and Nissan, which not only have doubled the pressure in the global market, but also suffered setbacks in China, the world's largest automobile market. Recently, it was reported that Honda and Huawei are cooperating to apply Huawei's intelligent driving solutions to its new sub-brand "Ye brand" models. This move not only reflects the urgency of Japanese automakers in their intelligent transformation, but also reveals Huawei's growing position in the automotive industry chain.
Pictured: Honda and Huawei discuss cooperation on intelligent driving, and Huawei's technology may be used in "Ye" brand cars
Background of the cooperation: the dual pressure of declining sales and technology catch-up
Sales crisis: Japanese automakers are underperforming in China
According to a report by Japan's Kyodo News Agency in December 2024, although Toyota's sales in China increased by 7% year-on-year, the performance of Honda and Nissan could not hide the decline:
- Honda's sales fell 28% y/y to 76,773 units, marking the 10th consecutive month of decline.
- Nissan's sales fell 15.1% y/y to 63,545 units, marking the eighth consecutive month of decline.
In stark contrast, Chinese new energy vehicle companies such as BYD and GAC Aion have performed strongly in both domestic and foreign markets. For example, BYD's global sales exceeded 500,000 units in November 2024, a year-on-year increase of nearly 40%. Honda and Nissan chose to merge in a group, apparently to improve economies of scale, reduce cost pressures, and cope with strong competition in the Chinese market.
Intelligent backwardness: technological breakthroughs are urgently needed
In the field of intelligent driving, Japanese automakers have long adhered to the "conservative line" of gradual development. However, with the implementation of Tesla's FSD (Full Self-Driving) software and the technological breakthrough of China's new car-making forces in high-level autonomous driving, the technical image of Japanese automakers in the minds of consumers has gradually been marginalized. Honda's introduction of Huawei's intelligent driving solution shows that Honda is trying to quickly make up for its technological shortcomings through cooperation and at the same time improve its intelligent competitiveness.
Highlights of cooperation: Huawei empowers the "Ye brand".
Intelligent driving: from "assisted" to "advanced".
According to a report by Future Auto Daily, the "Ye brand" plans to introduce "Huawei Intelligent Driving" in future models system, which will likely be installed in parallel with Honda's existing Honda SENSING 360 system. Huawei's intelligent driving solution is highly localized, which not only better adapts to China's complex traffic environment, but also excels in key technical indicators such as perception and decision-making. For example, Huawei's ADS 2.0 system, released in 2024, has implemented high-level assisted driving functions in all scenarios of highways and urban roads, and its algorithm accuracy and response speed have reached the industry-leading level.
Intelligent cockpit: light field screen technology
The light field screen technology jointly developed by Honda and Huawei is considered an important innovation in the field of intelligent cockpits. This technology makes up for the limitations of traditional LCD screens by realizing large-format, long-sight immersive displays in a small space. According to reports, Huawei's light field screen provides a 40-inch large format, 3-meter long-range imaging, and 90PPD super retina resolution, which can bring users a more realistic AR experience. This differentiated technology is expected to become an important selling point for the "Ye brand" to attract consumers.
Observations and Comments: The way for traditional car companies to break through
Why Huawei?
For Honda, choosing Huawei to cooperate is not only a technical strategy, but also a market strategy. Huawei's technology accumulation in the field of intelligence has long been recognized by the industry, and its self-developed chips, sensor algorithms, and operating systems are highly competitive. At the same time, Huawei has been deeply involved in the Chinese market for many years, and has rich consumer insight capabilities and strong brand influence, which will help the "Ye brand" quickly open up the situation in the Chinese market.
The dual logic of "hugging" and "hugging legs".
From the merger plan of Honda and Nissan to Honda's hand-in-hand with Huawei, what we see is the "double group logic" of Japanese car companies in the face of the wave of new energy and intelligence. The scale effect and synergy brought by the merger are important, but technology empowerment is the core factor for whether it can truly break through. The cooperation with Huawei provides Honda with a platform to quickly test the waters of high-end intelligent driving and intelligent cockpit technology, rather than "long self-development" from scratch.
The breakthrough problem of traditional car companies
Although the cooperation provides a "shortcut" for traditional car companies, it is not easy to achieve a real breakthrough:
3.1. Run-in of culture and decision-making: Honda's Japanese-invested background and Huawei's technology dominance may bring running-in challenges in the R&D and decision-making process.
3.2. Regulations and commercialization: Intelligent driving technology still faces policy and regulatory constraints in the actual commercialization process, for example, it is still unknown how high-level driver assistance functions can meet the safety requirements of China.
3.3. Transformation of brand awareness: How to reshape the brand image in the new energy and intelligent transformation is still a long-term issue for traditional car companies such as Honda and Nissan.
Looking ahead: Collaboration is just the beginning
The "panic" and "breakthrough" of Japanese car companiesIt is not an isolated phenomenon, but a collective pain of change faced by traditional car companies. In the critical period when the global automotive industry is moving towards electrification and intelligence, whoever can quickly adapt to market demand and complete technological breakthroughs will be able to stand out in the new round of competition. Honda's attempt to join hands with Huawei provides a reference sample for the transformation of traditional car companies, but it will take time to test how effective it will be.
