- VW is negotiating with Huawei to boost its electric vehicles in China due to problems with its own software.
- Although VW later denied it, Huawei is considered controversial in the West and the United States has banned its use.
- VW seeks to improve its position in the Chinese electric vehicle market and has launched a special marketing strategy for that country.
VW is in talks with Huawei to boost the presence of its electric vehicles in China. The idea of the German brand is to use the software of the Asian company due to the problems of its own development, Cariad.
That was published on the morning of this Wednesday, May 17, by the Financial Timesarguing that the German company has budget problems and delays in the development of its software and that it needs to boost its presence in the electric vehicle market in China.
According to the English outlet, which quotes three people familiar with the situation, Volkswagen is in talks with Huawei and, in parallel, with another Chinese company that makes electric cars.
However, within a few hours, Volkswagen’s chief financial officer (CFO), Arno Antlitz, denied the Financial Times by saying that are not in talks with the Chinese technology company Huawei on the licensing of software for German brand cars in China.
VW’s quick response has an explanation: Huawei is a “bad word” for the West, especially in everything that has to do with any software from the Chinese company with strong ties to the Xi Jinping government.
The United States “banned” Huawei and no country in this part of the world, including companies, wants to “bother” the White House.
VW and Huawei, a geopolitical problem
The truth is that, beyond the veracity or not of the negotiations, VW’s software for its electric cars, Cariad, has been plagued with problems since its creation in 2020.
These include budget glitches and complications that led to delays in the launch of new electric vehicles like the Q6 e-tron (Audi) and the Macan (Porsche).
Suffice to say, these problems led Oliver Blume, VW’s CEO, to oust almost all of the Cariad-related top executives.
The VW group, including the brands Audi and Porsche, sells more cars than any other manufacturer in China.
However, if only the electric vehicle market is counted, Volkswagen is in ninth place behind brands like Tesla and China’s BYD.
VW has just 2 percent of the EV market in China.
That is why, in an attempt to gain ground in the EV market in that country, the German group launched its marketing strategy called “in China, for China”, which includes multimillion-dollar investments to grow.
VW’s move to deepen ties with Chinese tech groups such as Huawei comes as the United States and Europe are heading in the opposite direction: reducing their exposure to the Asian giant.
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