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Tesla Faces Stiff Competition in China As Huawei Enters Electric Car Race

A few weeks after Tesla announced the expansion of its Shanghai factory, Huawei has released details on a new vehicle. The telecommunication giant claims the new entrant comes with specs that can beat the Model Y. Tesla is also facing stiff completion from a new Chinese car start-up Nio.
Huawei CEO Richard Yu Aito M5 annoucement 7 photos
Photo: Media Library/CNBC
Huawei's first EVHuawei's first EVAito M5 HuaweiAito M5 HuaweiAito M5 HuaweiAito M5 Huawei
Huawei, better known for its telecommunication products, is leaping into the electric car market. EVs are not a foreign concept for the smartphone giant, and it has been working with other automakers on autonomous car technology.

During the company’s winter launch on Thursday, Huawei Consumer Business Group CEO Richard Yu said their first vehicle running on the HarmonyOS will start deliveries in February 2022. The EV, called Aito M5, runs on both electricity and fuel.

The Harmony OS is an Android-based operating system developed by Huawei as an alternative to Google’s operating system. The OS has evolved to include as many categories and products as competing smartphones. Aito M5 deliveries will begin around February 20 after the Lunar New year.

The Post-subsidy prices of the Aito M5 begin at $39,063, which is considerably lower than the new Tesla Model Y at $60,440.

Chinese car start-up Nio revealed deliveries of its flagship electric sedan start in September at $51,250 pre-subsidy. Its ET7 electric sedan will begin delivery in March with a starting price of $70,318.

During the winter launch, Yu claimed that Huawei’s Aito M5 offers better peak power and range than Tesla’s Model Y. Unlike the Model Y, the Aito M5 comes with a gas tank that helps extend the driving range when the battery runs out, so it's a plug-in hybrid.

Another car start-up called Lio Auto also offers the same features with a fuel-powered range extension feature for its latest model Li One. The Li One costs $53,052 without subsidies.

Other competitive features on Huawei’s Aito M5 include double-layered sound-proof glass.

You will know whether it is premium or not by the sound,” Yu said. “We are able to add the 'library grade' quality experience,” he added.

The Aito M5 is the first model under the Aito brand and loosely translates into “adding intelligence into auto.”
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About the author: Humphrey Bwayo
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Humphrey is a car enthusiast whose love and passion for automobiles extended into collecting, writing, driving, and working on cars. He got his passion for cars from his Dad, who spent thousands of hours working on his old junky 1970 E20 Toyota Corolla. Years later, he would end up doing the same with a series of lemons he’s owned throughout his adult life.
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