BEIJING (Reuters) – The Luxeed S7 electric sedan, developed by Chinese tech giant Huawei and Chery Auto, has started mass delivery after a shortage of semiconductors and production issues delayed production and delivery, a Huawei executive said on Saturday.
“A large number of Luxeed S7 vehicles have already rolled off the production line and are now being transported for delivery to customers,” Richard Yu, managing director and chairman of Huawei’s smart car solutions, posted on the Weibo social media platform.
Huawei had said problems delivering the premium brand electric vehicle (EV) should be resolved from April, local media reported this month.
Chery had lodged complaints with Huawei over how production issues with a computing unit made by the tech company had caused delays to deliveries of the vehicles, Reuters reported in January.
The S7 sedan – the first model for Chery’s Luxeed EV brand – had orders of about 20,000 as of Nov. 28. It is priced from 249,800 yuan ($34,600).
Huawei’s revenues grew the fastest in four years in 2023, with a rebound in its consumer segment and income from new businesses like smart car components accelerating its recovery from U.S. sanctions.
Last year Huawei announced it would spin off the smart car unit into a new company. Yu said this month the unit would likely turn a profit from April after losing billions of yuan in the past year, local media reported.
($1 = 7.2203 Chinese yuan renminbi)
(Reporting by Ziyi Tang, Lanqin Tian and Ryan Woo; Editing by William Mallard)
