Tech Insider: Honor’s High Overseas Hopes, Huawei’s Smart Car Unit to Get New CEO

Arm CEO says chip designer remains committed to China, BYD looks to crack Japan’s tricky EV market with new hatchback

Attendees check out Chinese smartphone-maker Honor’s booth at the International Consumer Electronics Exhibition in Berlin on Sept. 9. Photo: VCG

Honor’s latest sales forecast shows its high hopes for the overseas market

Honor Device Co. Ltd. has raised its 2023 overseas sales outlook for smartphones, its CEO said, after the company recovered some of its lost cachet in its home market after it was severed from Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd.

The Shenzhen-based firm, which also produces notebook computers and smart watches, expects its overseas smartphone shipments to surge by 130% to 140% this year, higher than its previous forecast of 70% to 80%, Honor CEO Zhao Ming told Caixin in an interview.

Since being spun-off, Honor has been trying to rebuild its business ties with suppliers. In January 2021, the company announced that it had forged partnerships with major global suppliers including Qualcomm, Intel, Microsoft and MediaTek.

Huawei appoints Yu Chengdong as chairman of smart car unit, sources say

Yu Chengdong, chief executive of Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd.’s smart car unit, has been appointed chairman of the unit, people familiar with the matter told Caixin.

Jin Yuzhi, head of Huawei’s optical fiber business, will replace Yu as CEO of the company’s Intelligent Automotive Solution unit, people close to the unit said.

Jin, also a vice president at Huawei, has been leading the expansion of the company’s optical technology into automaking. Together with the smart car unit, Huawei has developed smart optical products for vehicles.

The latest leadership changes come as Huawei struggles to grow its fledgling smart driving systems business. Huawei announced the venture in 2019 in an effort to offset the impact of U.S. sanctions on its consumer electronics business.

Chip designer Arm committed to China, CEO says

British chip designer Arm Holdings Plc remains committed to China and to working closely with its mainland-based partner following its $4.87 billion IPO, according to chief executive Rene Haas.

The Softbank-backed firm floated in New York last week via the world’s largest IPO year-to-date. But that has not affected its strategy globally.

“We are very, very committed to the China market through our partner, Arm China,” Haas told Chinese media in an online interview Monday. “The IPO doesn’t really change anything in terms of China for us and it doesn’t really change how we work with Arm in China.”

Shanghai-headquartered Arm Technology (China) Co. Ltd., also known as Arm China, operates independently and is the exclusive licensing platform of Arm’s global intellectual property in China.

With hatchback’s launch in Japan, BYD looks to crack tricky EV market

BYD Co. Ltd. introduced its Dolphin electric car to Japan, betting that the compact hatchback will help spearhead sales in a market that remains hesitant to embrace Chinese automakers or electric vehicles (EVs).

The Dolphin will start from 3.63 million yen ($24,560), BYD Auto Japan Co. Ltd. announced Wednesday in Tokyo. While BYD is China’s biggest carmaker and a frontrunner in the global industry’s rapid transition to EVs, it has made little headway in Japan, where people prefer to purchase cars from domestic powerhouses.

BYD has delivered only about 700 of its Atto 3 electric sport-utility vehicles in the country since sales started in January. The SUV has struggled to compete with Nissan’s less-expensive electric Leaf.

Appliance giant Midea plans Hong Kong IPO

Chinese home appliance giant Midea Group Co. Ltd. (000333.SZ -0.35%) plans to sell shares in a Hong Kong IPO, the company said Monday night.

Midea said it will pick an appropriate time within 18 months or longer for the listing. The Shenzhen-traded company disclosed last month that it was studying a potential share sale in Hong Kong as part of its global strategy, aiming to sell up to 10% of its total share capital.

The company didn’t say how much money it aims to raise.

A Hong Kong share sale will provide the company with a new overseas financing platform, which will help with its globalization strategy and improve its investor structure, an analyst at a securities firm Hong Kong told Caixin.