Huawei beats Apple to the punch: SF5 electric SUV debuts at Shanghai

Chinese technology giant Huawei Technologies has the SF5 electric SUV developed in partnership with automotive brand Seres which will be sold and marketed by Huawei throughout its flagship stores across China.

The SF5 boasts two electric motors powering an all-wheel drive powertrain producing up to 543-horsepower and 820Nm of torque, and is able to accelerate from 0 to 100km/h in 4.68-seconds, and offers all-electric range for daily city driving of 180-kilometres (NEDC) in what is called “pure electric mode”.

The fact that there is a “pure electric mode” also clarifies how the SF5 can boast a headline-grabbing extended range mode offering over 1,000-kilometres, though this press release avoids mention of the 1.5-litre, four-cylinder engine which acts as the range-extending generator, which was instead reported elsewhere.

Huawei instead focused on its Huawei DriveONE Three-in-One Electric Drive system which the company declared “is not only the optimal solution for reducing range anxiety, but also delivering world-class coupe performance.”

Built with a lightweight aluminium chassis, four ball joint double-wishbone front suspension, and a trapezoidal multi-link rear suspension, the SF5 is billed as “a performance monster”.

Unsurprisingly, much of Huawei’s focus was on the car’s internal technologies, such as the Huawei HiCar system which enables users to switch between their mobile phone applications and the car’s central control panel which provides access to navigation, music, and more.

Including interactive voice control and the ability to connect to other smart devices – such as being able to control your home’s air conditioning or other connected devices – the SF5 also boasts a three-dimensional surround audio system powered by 11 sound units.

“This exciting announcement sets a precedent for both the consumer electronics industry and the new energy vehicle industry,” said Richard Yu, Executive Director and CEO of the Huawei Consumer Business Group.

“In the future, we will not only provide leading smart car solutions to help partners build better intelligent vehicles, but also help them sell those vehicles through our retail network across China.”

So while the Seres/Huawei SF5 may not be an all-electric vehicle killer, relying instead on what appears to be an internal combustion engine to generate the hyperbolic 1,000+ kilometres in range, it is nevertheless a big piece of news, coming as it does at the same time that recent rumours reactivated peoples’ interest in whether Apple, one of Huawei’s most well-known rivals, will enter the EV market.

As we covered earlier this month, CEO Tim Cook recently hinted at a possible autonomous Apple EV amidst other rumours that the company might be making deals with automakers.

In this, then, Huawei has beaten Apple to the punch. But, on the off chance that the much-hyped Apple car isn’t just another Apple TV rumour mill echo chamber, if Apple comes to market with an actual all-electric vehicle with at least a modicum of the company’s design and technology pedigree, they’ll leave Huawei in the dust.