Huawei, BAIC eye share in luxury sedan segment

Huawei and BAIC launched the Stelato S9 on Tuesday in Beijing, aiming to make a foray into the luxury sedan segment that has been dominated by global carmakers including BMW and Mercedes.

The electric sedan, which rivals BMW 7 Series and Mercedes-Benz S Class, is offered in two variants, Max and Ultra, priced from 399,800 yuan ($55,960) and 449,800 yuan, respectively.

Yu Chengdong, chairman of Huawei's intelligent automotive solutions business unit, said the Stelato S9 is expected to become a new benchmark in the luxury executive sedan segment.

Last year, vehicles from Chinese brands accounted for roughly 8 percent of the segment, said BAIC Chairman Zhang Jianyong, adding that BAIC is "all in" on the Stelato S9 to change the segment’s status quo.

Among other things, the Stelato S9 is the first model to feature Huawei's Advanced Driving System 3.0, an assisted driving system that aims to deliver a more facilitated and intelligent driving experience.

It has a range of 816 km on one charge, accelerates from zero to 100 km per hour in 3.9 seconds, and boasts a wheelbase of 3,050 mm.

The Stelato S9 joins the Aito M9 as the two flagship models of Huawei's Harmony Intelligent Mobility Alliance.

As Huawei ramps up efforts on high-end intelligent driving solutions, its HIMA's cumulative deliveries reached 238,287 vehicles for the first seven months of this year, the company's data showed.