Huawei has teamed up with Chery to release the Luxeed EH3, an electric sedan that aims to curb the Tesla Model 3 in the Chinese market. With its LiDAR, it would be able to drive 200 km without human intervention.
At first glance, we thought we saw the BYD Seal. And then in fact, we said to ourselves that it was rather a BYD Han. Or not, rather a Nio. Or an Xpeng… It is true that we may be showing a little bad faith, but we tend to get lost in all these new products from China. Already because these are not brands to which we are accustomed. Then, because the design feature often has strong similarities (we recognize Japanese cars at first glance). Finally, because the pace of novelties is pushed.
But the one you have in front of you comes from Huawei, and is called the Luxeed EH3. Yes yes, Huawei for “Huawei”, the famous smartphone manufacturer. And more generally, the technology giant, which we have known for a few years now that it has its eye on the automobile. Moreover, at the end of July, we had already been able to discover the Avatr 12, from the Avatr Technology brand. Here, Huawei hides under another name, that of Luxeed, a new brand with which we will have to familiarize ourselves.
A dynamic design
This first image of the Luxeed EH3 comes to us from Chengdong Yu, the CEO of Huawei Intelligent Automotive Solution Business Unit, who shared a photo of the sedan on the Weibo social network. The project is common between Huawei and the car manufacturer Chery, the latter probably having something to do with the name of this new brand. Luxeed could indeed refer to Exeed, the group’s premium brand. While the reference to the American Lucid is probably not for nothing.
Aesthetically, we will note the LED strip which crosses the front face from side to side, the short overhangs at the front and at the rear certainly favoring the interior space, the frameless doors and the flush handles, and these rims giving it a sporty appearance under which we can see Brembo calipers. But what aesthetically challenges us above all refers to the technological chapter: the bump hiding the LiDAR at the top of the windshield.
HarmonyOS4 at the controls
As we have seen on the future Volvo EX90 or the Nio ET7, LiDAR should become more widespread on the next cars (to know everything about LiDAR, it’s here). This Luxeed EH3 therefore uses this technology and will be equipped with Huawei’s ADS 2.0 intelligent driving system. In addition to LiDAR, it will be based on 11 HD cameras, 3 millimeter radars and 12 ultrasonic radars.
Volvo EX90 // Source: Ulrich Rozier for Frandroid
Nio ET7 // Source: Robin Wyck for Frandroid
Thus equipped, the Luxeed EH3 would be able to travel up to 200 km without manual intervention. The Navigation Cruise Assist system allows it to be autonomous in town and on the highway. Huawei has announced that this system will initially be available in no less than 45 Chinese cities.
The Luxeed EH3 will also be equipped with the HarmonyOS 4 operating system just presented at the Huawei Developers Conference 2023, which will allow excellent connectivity with all devices from Huawei. A Qualcomm Snapdragon 8295 chip will take care of running, among other things, video games in the car. There is also talk of connecting the car to a drone to broadcast the images on the car screen…
Up to 700 kilometers of range
Based on Chery’s E0X platform, the Luxeed EH3 looks very clearly on the side of the Tesla Model 3. Without having any precise information yet on the car, we can deduce that it will be equipped with an 800-volt architecture, and of CATL batteries offering up to 700 km of autonomy.
The media CarNewsChina suggests a starting price of 200,000 yuan, which would equate to just over 25,000 euros at the current exchange rate. In its home market anyway. We will probably know a little more about the Luxeed EH3 when it is presented at the Chengdu Motor Show which will be held on August 25th. As for its arrival on the market, it would be expected for the third quarter of 2023.
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