Huawei has announced the biggest reshuffle of its Harmony Intelligent Mobility (Hongmeng Zhixing) car business since the brand was created, with Aito (Wenjie) taking over its own operations and the remaining four 'Jie' brands - Zunjie, Xiangjie, Zhijie (Luxeed) and Shangjie - set to receive more resources, according to Chinese tech outlet Huxiu.
Richard Yu, Huawei's executive director and chairman of the consumer business group, said in a social media post on September 24 that the company will focus its development, quality and testing resources on the four remaining brands. He explained that Aito partner Seres, after years of cooperation, now wants to lead its own operations, and Huawei supports that decision.
Around the same time, Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei met with Feng Changjun, general manager of Dongfeng Motor, in Shenzhen, reiterating that "Huawei does not build cars" but is happy to help automakers make better vehicles with its intelligent technology.
Who inherits Aito's position?
Aito delivered 425,000 vehicles in 2025, accounting for about 72 percent of Harmony Intelligent Mobility's total deliveries of 589,107 units, according to a research note from China International Capital Corporation cited by Huxiu. Aito has built over 400 user centres covering more than 200 cities, with 93 percent of them dedicated single-brand stores.
From January 1, 2027, Huawei's dedicated stores will split into two types: those selling only Aito, and those selling the other four brands together. Aito is taking the most mature part of the distribution network and the "first association with Huawei cars" in consumers' minds.
Luxeed, the joint brand with Chery, is the best positioned among the four to take over Aito's customer base, with the broadest model lineup covering sedans, SUVs and MPVs in the 200,000 to 500,000 yuan (about $28,200 to $70,400) price range. The Luxeed RX, which Yu called "the best-handling car in Harmony Intelligent Mobility", is priced between 269,800 and 399,800 yuan (about $38,000 to $56,300) as a Chinese guide price before taxes and incentives, and comes with four lidar sensors as standard, according to Autohome. It goes on sale September 28.
But inheriting the position is not the same as holding it. Huxiu identifies four hurdles: brand identity, sustaining hit models, channel conversion efficiency, and Huawei-Chery coordination.
Luxeed lacks a clear identity in consumers' minds, according to Yiche. It has neither Chery's value-for-money image nor Aito's premium intelligent label. The Luxeed V9 MPV, launched under new executive Zhao Changjiang, delivered 10,101 units in July and 8,283 in August, topping the MPV segment two months in a row, but whether that success extends to the RX and the refreshed R7 is another question.
In stores, sales staff must pitch multiple brands, diluting time and test-drive resources for each. Huxiu reporters found that with Aito's departure expected, store scripts are already shifting toward Luxeed. But the bigger pressure comes from Huawei's other partnerships: a new Dongfeng Nissan Teana equipped with the Harmony cockpit and Huawei audio system sells for just 130,000 yuan (about $18,300), giving consumers Huawei technology without visiting a Harmony Intelligent Mobility store.
Can Luxeed make money?
Zhao Changjiang, who previously led Denza's brand revival and built its direct-sales network, joined Luxeed in January 2026 as executive director and executive vice president in charge of sales, marketing and user operations. Guo Rui is chairman and CEO overseeing strategy, Huawei controls product definition, and Chery handles manufacturing.
Yu publicly apologised that Luxeed loses 10,000 to 30,000 yuan (about $1,400 to $4,200) on every car sold, with the loss borne by Chery. The core tension: Huawei applies near-million-yuan standards to cars priced at 200,000 to 300,000 yuan, creating a structural cost problem.
Huxiu offers five indicators to watch over the next six to 12 months: first-quarter sales of the RX and refreshed R7; whether the V9 sustains monthly deliveries above 8,000 units; store lead conversion rates; and whether consumers start saying "the Luxeed RX" instead of "that Huawei car". The article notes that Luxeed RX pre-orders of over 50,000 units are refundable and not final deliveries, and that the L3 hardware option is essentially a policy bet on future regulation.
Luxeed may become the best-selling of the four Jie brands in the short term, Huxiu concludes, but its long-term fate depends on whether Chery can make money inside Huawei's system.
