Huawei’s luxury saloon Stelato S9 launched in China

After debuting at the Beijing Auto Show in April and opening pre-orders back in June, sales and deliveries of Huawei’s Stelato S9, built in collaboration with BAIC, have now officially started. The S9 features advanced autonomous driving tech and an 800+ km range and targets German luxury EVs like the Mercedes-Benz EQS and BMW i7.

The 5.16-meter-long Stelato S9 luxury saloon has launched in China, with prices starting at 399,800 yuan (51,000 euros) for the rear-wheel drive S9 Max or 449,800 yuan (57,400 euros) for the all-wheel drive S9 Ultra. It’s Huawei’s latest foray into the automotive industry, partnering with state-owned BAIC as part of the tech giant’s Harmony Intelligent Mobility Alliance (HIMA).

800+ km range

The Stelato S9 certainly seems to have every box ticked to compete with the EQS or i7. It features an 800-volt 100 kWh battery, allowing for a CLTC range of 816 km for the 227 kW (309 hp) Max or 721 km for the 385 kW (524 hp) Ultra. The latter takes just 3.9 seconds to accelerate from 0-100 km/h. Thanks to the 800V architecture, a 5-minute charge is enough to recuperate 200 km of range.

Other features include a very low drag coefficient of just 0.193 Cd, improving the range and reducing the wind noise on board, Huawei’s ADS 3.0 autonomous driving systems with LiDAR and the ‘GOD’ neural network, and pixel LED headlamps that can project images on the road or walls when the vehicle is parked.

On board, passengers can enjoy Huawei’s HarmonyOS 4 infotainment system, a 12.3-inch digital instrument panel, a 15.6-inch central touchscreen, a 13.2-inch tablet in the rear, or even a 32-inch screen to watch movies while driving. Air suspension and massaged ‘zero gravity’ seats provide ample comfort.

Target of 120,000 units per year

Even with this relatively high price tag (for a Chinese brand) and its luxury positioning, Stelato aims to sell up to 120,000 units of the S9 annually. As of now, Huawei’s HIMA network, which includes Aito (with Seres), Luxeed (with Chery), Stelato, and Maextro (with JAC) but does not count Avatr, in which Huawei has no equity stake, sells around 40,000 vehicles per month.