• Stelato plans to invest RMB 20 billion ($2.8 billion) over the next three years to advance technological iteration in design, assisted driving, smart cockpits, and quality.
• Huawei and BAIC will establish a dedicated Stelato business unit team operating under a "strategic alliance" approach.

Stelato, the new brand jointly created by Huawei and Beijing Automotive Group (BAIC Group), has pledged substantial investment to intensify its efforts in China's electric vehicle (EV) market.

Huawei and BAIC will deepen collaboration around the Stelato brand, forming a strategic alliance, according to a Stelato statement released today.

Stelato plans to invest RMB 20 billion ($2.8 billion) over the next three years to advance technological innovation in design, assisted driving, smart cockpits, and quality.

Huawei and BAIC will establish a dedicated Stelato business unit team operating under a "strategic alliance" model to achieve synergy from product design to sales services, the statement noted.

The two companies will also build a dedicated manufacturing and supply chain system for Stelato, alongside establishing exclusive sales and service channels.

Stelato is one of five automotive brands under Huawei's HIMA (Harmony Intelligent Mobility Alliance) umbrella, the other four being Seres Group's Aito, Chery's Luxeed, Anhui Jianghuai Automobile Group (JAC)'s Maextro, and SAIC's Shangjie.

The brand's sole model to date is the Stelato S9, launched on August 6, 2024, targeting the premium sedan segment.

On August 18, Stelato began accepting pre-orders for its second model, the S9T, with a pre-sales price of RMB 328,000.

The Stelato S9T will be officially launched tomorrow, with a launch event scheduled to start at 7:00 pm Beijing time.

Like the S9, the S9T offers both battery electric vehicle (BEV) and extended-range electric vehicle (EREV) variants, a dual-powertrain approach common across most Huawei-backed models.

The S9T BEV features Huawei's 100-kWh Whale Battery, delivering a range of up to 801 kilometers.

The S9T EREV utilizes Huawei's Xuexiao extended-range system, delivering a battery range of 354 kilometers and a combined range of up to 1,305 kilometers when fully fueled and charged.

Last month, Huawei and Chery signed a new cooperation agreement to advance their jointly developed automotive brand Luxeed into its "phase 2.0."

Luxeed will invest over RMB 10 billion and expand its R&D team to 5,000 personnel to strengthen its technological leadership, the brand announced at the time.

($1 = RMB 7.1234)