Audi’s new A5 sedan and all-electric Q6 e-tron crossover will be the company’s first models to use Huawei’s advanced driver assistance system (ADAS), which will enable the cars to autonomously change lanes and overtake in Chinese cities, local media reported.
Why it is important: The news is the latest development in a six-year collaboration between Audi and Huawei. The companies announced in mid-2018 that they had signed an agreement to develop a Level 4 autonomous driving system that could take full control of a vehicle in Chinese urban traffic without human intervention.
Details: The new A5 sedan, the first model to use Audi’s latest combustion engine architecture called Premium Platform Combustion (PPC), is expected to make its China debut in November at this year’s Guangzhou Auto Show in the capital of Guangdong province, according to people familiar with the matter who spoke to Chinese media outlet iYiou.
- Sources added that the hatchback-style sedan, which replaces the A4 model in the German company’s vehicle lineup, will also feature Huawei components such as electronic control units and is scheduled to be unveiled at the 2025 Auto Shanghai Show next April. The A5 will be manufactured by Audi and FAW Group, one of its Chinese partners.
- Meanwhile, there has been speculation that the Q6 e-tron, Audi’s first car to use Volkswagen’s advanced premium electric vehicle (PPE) platform, will also use Huawei’s ADAS. Meanwhile, Audi is working with Chinese self-driving car startup Momenta on automated driving for a separate new series being developed with SAIC, the German company’s other local production partner, the report said.
Context: Volkswagen Audi is not the only international car company open to working with Huawei. Toyota has reportedly agreed to buy Huawei’s autonomous driving system for its China-made electric vehicles, while more Chinese automakers are expanding their collaboration with the tech giant. Huawei estimates that there will be around 500,000 cars equipped with its technology on the roads by the end of the year, Reuters reported.
- Huawei is gaining traction in the world’s largest auto market thanks to growing customer demand for smart driving features. A senior executive at the company said last week that its latest Advanced Driving System (ADS) offers Chinese users greater safety in a point-to-point autonomous experience than Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (FSD) system, TechNode reported.
- Audi reported sales of more than 320,000 luxury cars in China for the first half of this year, down slightly by 1.9% from a year ago and below the combined sales of BMW and Mercedes-Benz. The German luxury carmaker is planning a series of moves to defend its market share as domestic rivals such as Li Auto and NIO gain ground. These include buying EV technologies from SAIC and developing a new logo for future vehicles, Reuters reported.
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