The first Huawei-engineered electric car isn't technically branded as a Huawei

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The Chinese smartphone maker's first electric car isn't technically branded as a Huawei, nor is it an actual fully-electric vehicle.

The first Huawei-engineered electric vehicle has debuted at Auto Shanghai 2021, and it's called the SERES SF5.

Available for purchase at Huawei's China flagship stores, the extended-range electric vehicle is priced at 246,800 CNY (S$50,400) for the four-wheel drive model, and 216,800 CNY (S$44,300) for the two-wheel drive model.

The SF5 is designed and produced by Chinese automotive company SERES, but Huawei has provided their HUAWEI DriveONE Three-in-One Electric Drive system to propel the car, and Huawei HiCar solutions for vehicle connectivity.

The SF5 is touted to be capable of running on pure electric power for a range of 180km. An additional range of over 1,000km is provided by a 1.5 litre 4-cylinder petrol engine that can generate power for the car's battery pack.

This parallel hybrid system is similar to the E-Power drivetrain employed in the Nissan Kicks E-Power .

The Huawei SERES SF5 boasts impressive performance credentials, with the top-of-the-line SF5 having two electric motors that churn out a combined 543 bhp and 820nm of torque, and a 0-100 km/h acceleration time of 4.68s.

The vehicle's performance is also aided by the lightweight aluminium chassis, the four-ball joint double-wishbone front suspension, and the trapezoidal multi-link rear suspension.

Huawei's Harmony OS-based HUAWEI HiCar system means that you won't be likely to see Apple CarPlay or Android Auto compatibility.

However, HiCar will enable users to seamlessly switch between their mobile phone applications to the vehicle’s massive portrait touchscreen central control panel, enabling access to navigation, music and more, anytime, anywhere.

The HiCar system also provides interactive voice control, allowing users to focus purely on driving. It can also connect the car to other smart devices, so users in the car can turn on their air conditioning, smart screen, and other connected devices at home.

The new SERES SF5 also has a vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) rescue recharge mode, which can provide emergency power to isolated vehicles in the wilderness. It also provides vehicle-to-load (V2L) camping power supply mode.

L2+ level automatic assisted driving, traffic congestion assistance, full speed domain adaptive cruise control, and other features are present in the Huawei SERES SF5. In addition, the front row is equipped with sporty and sophisticated seats with ventilation, heating, and massage functions.

Huawei has had a meteoric rise in the consumer electronics field, and if the SERES SF5 is any indication to go by, it seems that they may experience a similar success in the electric car scene. What are your thoughts on Huawei's latest EV offering? Let us know in the comments below.

This article was first published in Motorist.