By CHEN Xiaotong

The ownership of 21 trademarks associated with the car brand Wenjie have been transferred to Huawei, an attempt to pave the road for more collaboration with other automakers.

The trademarks formerly belonged to Beijing Yongan Shida Technology and Beijing Kechuang Huida Technology, whose relationships with Huawei are more obscure than even the non-automaking giant’s intention. They have, however, transferred trademarks to Huawei before, though none under the automobile category.  

Huawei has repeatedly insisted that it has no plans to make its own cars but participates in the car market through a “consortium” called Wenjie Ecosystem Alliance. Wenjie is emerging as the designated survivor of Huawei’s many attempts to make car parts and software.

“Wenjie” is little more than a collection of ad hoc arrangements, including names and badges, with carmakers, although Huawei’s chosen partners are very far from household names.

Under the arrangements, Huawei works with numerous car companies, providing design advice, parts, software and distribution channels.

Apart from the “distribution channels” – selling cars not made by Huawei in stores designed and built to sell Huawei consumer electronics -  this is much like any of the thousands of arrangements whereby electronics companies supply the bits and bobs that go into cars.

Much of the confusion seems to be about how Huawei wants to be seen. The company has a painfully obvious desire to label itself as something bigger and better than a tawdry car-parts supplier, but something less than a tawdry carmaker.

The first car maker signed up was Seres, a car maker with little history of actually making cars until Huawei showed up. Seres owns the AITO Wenjie trademark and its logo. The AITO Wenjie appeared in late 2021.

Yu Chengdong, CEO of Huawei’s automotive dalliances, has tried to explain that the short-lived switch was a deliberate attempt to consolidate brands so that customers are not “confused.”

It’s not difficult to see why customers could be confused, according to Yu: “It’s Wenjie with Seres now. And there will be Wenjie with Chery, BAIC, JAC, etc.”

Yu has predicted that manufacturers delivering fewer than 10 million cars each year will find it hard to survive.