by ZHOU Shuqi

China's GAC Group is launching a new electric-vehicle marque with Huawei, giving the tech company an unusually broad role in product definition as automakers consolidate brands and scale back investment in a slowing market.

The brand, Qijing, was unveiled on Nov. 20 at a Huawei event and will target the 300,000-yuan (US$42,000) segment. Its first model, a fastback EV, is due to go on sale in June. Huawei's Intelligent Automotive Solution BU will co-lead concept, design, development and testing — a deeper involvement than in earlier Huawei Inside partnerships with carmakers such as Seres and Chery.

BU CEO JIN Yuzhi said the two sides would jointly make all major decisions up to the launch. The move positions Qijing to compete for younger buyers who prioritize styling, smart features and driving performance, and analysts drew comparisons with Xiaomi Auto, which has shown that a design-driven, performance-oriented play can deliver scale and profitability.

Qijing CEO LIU Jiaming said the car's floorpan, seating layout, suspension and roof structure were reworked to achieve a lower stance without reducing cabin space. Huawei's Milan design center led the styling, with rotating chair Eric Xu supervising the review process.

The partnership revives a stalled 2021 project. GAC formed the Huawang Auto joint venture in March with 1.5 billion yuan, while Huawei has stationed several hundred staff in Guangzhou. Qijing is adopting Huawei's IPD and IPMS processes to accelerate development.

The push comes as GAC faces rising pressure in China's premium EV market. Its existing high-end EV line under the Aion brand has lagged rivals such as Zeekr, Avatr and SAIC's IM. GAC posted a 1.77-billion-yuan Q3 net loss and more than 4 billion yuan of losses in the first nine months of the year.

GAC has launched an internal restructuring to shift toward more operations-driven management. A new leadership team led by chairman FENG Xingya and general manager HE Xianqing now oversees product, R&D, manufacturing and branding.

Analysts say Qijing could help GAC regain ground in the premium segment but warn that brand building will take time and investment, while GAC's existing marques still need volume to absorb costs. The first model's delivery next year will test whether the partnership can gain traction in China's fast-moving EV market.