(Yicai) May 21 -- The new luxury car model to be co-developed by Huawei Technologies and Jianghuai Automobile Group, better known JAC Motors, will rival the Mercedes-Benz Maybach and the Rolls-Royce Phantom, according to the chairman of the Chinese telecoms giant’s Intelligent Automotive Solutions Business Unit.

The new car model will be more luxurious, more premium, and more comfortable than the Maybach and the Phantom, Sina Tech reported, citing Richard Yu.

Next year, Huawei and JAC will launch a luxury electric vehicle priced at up to CNY1 million, Yu said at an automotive industry forum on March 16.

According to a statement released in March by the Department of Ecology and Environment of Anhui province, Huawei and JAC will develop a multi-purpose vehicle with a length of 5.2 meters and a wheelbase of 3.2 meters, based on the pair’s co-developed X6 platform. Expected to hit the market next year, the model has a planned annual production capacity of 35,000 units.

Huawei’s Intelligent Automotive Solutions BU cooperates with carmakers based on three approaches: vertical parts supplier, intelligent systems provider through the Huawei Inside partnership model, and full-set solutions provider via the Huawei Smart Selection business model.

Among these three approaches, the third has been the most successful so far. In fact, Huawei’s Smart Selection business turned losses into a profit in the first quarter of the year thanks to hot sales, while the Intelligent Automotive Solution BU was only close to achieving a turnaround.

The Intelligent Automotive Solution BU used to lose CNY10 billion (USD1.4 billion) a year. It reported a loss of CNY6 billion (USD829 million) last year but may turn profitable this year, Yu said at the forum.

The automakers cooperating with Huawei under the Smart Selection model are BAIC Group, Chery Automobile, JAC, and Seres Group.

The new brand between Huawei and JAC will target the ultra luxurious market. At the same time, Huawei launched the Stelato high-end brand with BAIC, the Luxeed mid-to-high-end marque with Chery Auto, and the Aito sports utility vehicle brand with Seres, Yu explained.

Editor: Futura Costaglione