Huawei would work on autonomous cars

Huawei would be developing autonomous cars in partnership with various automakers as part of a push towards artificial intelligence.

The Chinese technology giant is providing artificial intelligence software to a number of renowned automakers, including Audi, of Volkswagen, and to a joint venture between Japanese Toyota and GAC companies, said an official of the company at the Financial Times.

Two other Chinese companies, Beijing New Energy Automobile and Changan Automobile, are also collaborating with the company, the newspaper reported.

Dang Wenshuan, the chief architect of Huawei's strategy, told the newspaper that the company and its partners are working on building a car that can be shipped as early as 2021. He said the car would be available in Europe and China.

The industry standards for autonomous vehicles determine the levels of autonomy that an automobile can achieve. For Huawei, it would be level 4, which is the second highest standard in the framework.

The FT claims to have seen a video of an Audi vehicle powered by Huawei's artificial intelligence technician at the company's headquarters in Shanghai. The vehicle contained a driver, but the steering wheel and controls were intact.

Huawei could not be contacted immediately for comment.

The company is under intense pressure from Washington in the midst of the US-China trade war. The Trump administration recently added the company to a blacklist of exchanges, which has led several providers to distance themselves from the company.

Earlier Wednesday, the company announced it had canceled the launch of its new Matebook laptop because of its ban from dealing with US suppliers.

US officials are worried that the telecommunications giant's device could be used to allow Chinese espionage, an badertion refuted by the company. A Huawei executive recently told British lawmakers that the company is "independent" and will never share network data with Beijing.

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