Tesla faces yet another EV rival in China as partner of Ford and Mazda teams up with Huawei and CATL to launch the Avatar brand

Avatar will operate as an independent entity, assembling EVs based on the new CHN architecture, according to a statement by Changan Automobile

The smart EV will use Huawei’s Harmony OS and battery packs made by Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL)

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A concept of Chongqing Changan Automobile’s Yueyue sports-utility vehicle (SUV) at the 2017 Shanghai Auto Show. Photo: Mark Andrews.

Published: 4:30pm, 21 May 2021Updated: 6:26pm, 21 May 2021

Corrected [6:25pm, 21 May, 2021]

[6:25pm, 21 May, 2021]
Corrects venture name throughout story to Avatar Technology from Avita, based on company's statement

Chongqing Changan Automobile, the state-owned Chinese partner of Ford and Mazda, has added a fourth electric car brand to its portfolio as it joins China’s dominant 5G technology company and battery maker in taking on Tesla in the world’s largest market for vehicles running on non-fossil fuels.

Changan has set up a new unit called Avatar Technology, with stakes owned by Huawei Technologies and Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL), according to a statement to the Shenzhen Stock Exchange. Avatar will operate as an independent entity, assembling EVs based on its new CHN architecture, using automotive chips designed by Huawei, according to the statement.

“The smart EVs to be fitted with Huawei’s intelligent vehicle technologies and CATL’s batteries will draw rave reviews among Chinese car buyers,” said Peter Chen, an engineer with the car component company ZF TRW in Shanghai. “The two powerful partners are set to help Changan churn out high-performance smart EVs. Competition in China’s premium EV segment will escalate.”

Changan, a laggard behind bigger state-owned carmakers like SAIC Motor or FAW in selling vehicles powered by internal combustion engines (ICEs), is a late comer to an industry where three in five new cars are expected to run on electricity by 2030. Hundreds of assemblers are already vying for market share, a boom that prompted US President Joe Biden to include electric cars in his US$2.3 trillion infrastructure package to bolster the US economy.

Changan’s smart EVs in the pipeline would be launched with a series of car-related products to create a smart lifestyle and clean-energy ecosystem, the company said.

Based in Chongqing municipality, Changan is one of China’s largest carmakers, producing sedans, crossovers and minibuses under its own brands. Last month, it surpassed Geely Automobile Holdings to become China’s largest assembler of light vehicles, with sales of its own brands more than doubling to nearly 474,000 units, according to the China Automobile Dealers Association.

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