A partnership with Maserati would signify a pivotal move for Huawei, marking its entry into the premium market and facilitating its global ascent.

In September 2026, the domestic luxury car sector was jolted by a significant rumor.

According to Italy's Milano Finanza, Maserati, the ultra-luxury marque under the Stellantis Group, is engaged in in-depth negotiations with Huawei and JAC Motors. The trio aims to establish a long-term strategic alliance to co-develop new high-end all-electric vehicle models. They plan to adopt a dual-brand strategy, featuring the "Domestic Zunjie Brand for the Chinese market and Overseas Maserati Brand for international markets," with the first model slated for mass production by the end of 2027.

The news rapidly spread across both automotive and financial circles, igniting intense industry debate. In fact, this news had been initially reported four months prior by a domestic self-media outlet, Yunjian Insight, and subsequently reposted by 36Kr. However, due to its seemingly far-fetched nature, it only caused a minor ripple and failed to garner widespread attention.

This time, however, the foreign media coverage lent the news more credibility among industry peers. After being picked up by some official media outlets, it finally sparked a media frenzy, prompting responses even from Stellantis Group executives.

Notably, Stellantis's official stance was quite diplomatic. Group executives stated, "The Stellantis Group continues to engage in communications and exchanges with global industry partners on various topics, remaining committed to providing customers with the best mobility solutions. Maserati's future strategy and development plans will be officially announced at the Investor Day event in Modena, Italy, this December."

This response is typical of multinational automakers—neither confirming nor denying, leaving all the intrigue for the final reveal.

The two domestic reports, one preceding and the other following, were strikingly similar, revealing almost no new information. It appeared as though the Italian journalists had merely translated the domestic news and then had it recompiled and translated back—a classic case of "exporting and then importing."

Rumors suggest that the collaboration has been in the works since early 2025. Although no formal agreement has been signed, some R&D activities have already commenced. Given the propensity of domestic media, if Huawei were involved, the news would have surfaced much earlier rather than only emerging in May of this year.

Neptune's Decline

Beyond the boost from Italian media coverage, the event itself has transitioned from unreliable to seemingly plausible, warranting public attention this time around.

As Stellantis's premium flagship, Maserati has long relied on fuel-powered sports cars and luxury SUVs to carve out its market niche, securing a solid foothold in the high-end segment with its distinctive engine sound tuning and Italian design heritage.

However, in the global wave of electrification, the brand's vulnerabilities have been fully exposed. Lagging in intelligent technologies, slow in iterating all-electric products, and witnessing a shrinking market share in new energy vehicles, Maserati faces mounting pressure from both traditional and new competitors like Tesla, NIO, and Li Auto. Its traditional luxury fuel advantages continue to diminish, with global sales remaining sluggish and its presence in the critical growth market of China becoming increasingly marginalized.

For Maserati, mired in transformation challenges, this collaboration could serve as a key to unlocking its electrification impasse.

The 2025 financial report reveals that Maserati's global shipments in 2025 stood at 7,900 units, further declining from 11,300 units in 2024 and 26,600 units in 2023. Over two years, Maserati's annual shipments have decreased by nearly 19,000 units.

The Chinese market is also under pressure. Despite the prevalence of "everybody owns a Quattroporte" on Xiaohongshu, Maserati's full-year sales in China in 2025 were merely around 1,400 units.

Following the Chengdu Auto Show last year, Maserati initiated multiple rounds of significant price cuts. The fuel version of the Grecale, with an official guide price of RMB 650,800, was discounted to RMB 388,800—a reduction of over RMB 260,000, equivalent to a 40% discount. The all-electric Grecale saw even steeper discounts, with its official guide price of RMB 898,800 slashed to RMB 358,800—a RMB 540,000 reduction, equivalent to a 60% discount.

Moreover, starting January 1, 2026, Maserati is no longer separately listed in Stellantis Group's financial report segments. Under the new disclosure method, Maserati's sales and related operating data will be categorized by vehicle sales region and included in different regional segments. Once the veil is lifted, its decline in the Chinese market will no longer be visible.

Huawei's entry precisely addresses Maserati's most significant weakness. With years of deep involvement in the smart car sector, Huawei's Qiankun Intelligent Driving System, HarmonyOS Intelligent Cockpit, and comprehensive smart ecosystem have achieved large-scale implementation. Their technological maturity, iteration speed, and user experience far surpass those of traditional overseas luxury automakers' self-developed systems.

By leveraging Huawei's mature intelligent solutions, Maserati can bypass lengthy R&D cycles and swiftly address its electrification and intelligent shortcomings, enabling the century-old luxury brand to align with new energy consumption trends in China and globally.

Meanwhile, JAC Motors, following the Zunjie model, possesses mature high-end vehicle manufacturing processes, a well-established supply chain system, and stable production capacity. It can provide high-quality engineering support for the collaborative models, resolving Maserati's issues of insufficient production capacity and weak local manufacturing capabilities.

In short, the tripartite collaboration enables Maserati to swiftly restart its electrification transformation and revitalize its brand's existing value.

For Huawei's automotive BU, partnering with Maserati also represents a crucial step towards high-end market penetration and global upgrading.

When Huawei Wields the Trident

Currently, Huawei's smart selection automotive business spans multiple price segments, covering the mainstream home market and domestic high-end market. However, it has yet to penetrate the ultra-luxury market valued at over RMB 1 million, with limited brand influence in the top-tier luxury segment.

Collaborating with Maserati, a globally recognized ultra-luxury brand, can shatter the perception that Huawei's technological empowerment is limited to mass-market models. Leveraging the endorsement of a century-old luxury brand's ethos, Huawei can break through the product price ceiling and officially enter the global ultra-luxury smart electric vehicle arena.

Simultaneously, by relying on Maserati's mature overseas channel network, Huawei's smart car technologies and HarmonyOS automotive ecosystem can rapidly expand into overseas markets, achieving a leap from "empowering Chinese automakers" to "empowering global luxury brands" and significantly enhancing its voice in the global smart car industry.

In other words, Huawei's ambition is no longer limited to building good cars for automakers but to build good cars for the world. Given Huawei's current intelligent configurations and ecosystem in the automotive sector, entering the European market would undoubtedly represent a significant advancement.

By leveraging Maserati's brand, Huawei can sell its technologies globally, transforming once again from a supplier to a technology exporter, thereby elevating its brand image and recognition in overseas markets.

In a role reversal, whereas China once exchanged markets for brands and technologies, now foreign entities are using brands and markets to acquire technologies.

Currently, Huawei's automotive business is experiencing rapid growth in technology exports to overseas markets. For instance, in the Thai market, Huawei's HMS for Car, through deep collaboration with Chinese automakers like Great Wall Motors and Chery Automobile, provides localized smart cockpit experiences for local consumers. At the 2026 Bangkok International Auto Show, Huawei showcased an AI voice system supporting over 15 Southeast Asian languages and dialects, with accent recognition accuracy improved to 90%.

In response to Thailand's complex toll scenarios, Huawei swiftly iterated its highway toll information prompt function. Through real-time traffic updates and 3D intersection enlargements, it outperformed industry standards in Bangkok field tests. Meanwhile, Huawei collaborated with local charging service provider Voltality to demonstrate a complete closed-loop of "navigation-charging-payment."

In the Malaysian market, Huawei's HMS for Car integrated leading broadcasting platform SYOK, lifestyle service provider The Noor, and roadside assistance provider Bateriku, constructing a comprehensive localized in-car service ecosystem.

China's smart car technologies have evolved from mere followers and imitators to reverse empowering global luxury brands, marking a new phase. The cooperation model between Chinese and foreign automotive industries is also upgrading from simple joint ventures and technology introductions to deep cross-border integration of brands, technologies, manufacturing, and channels.

For Maserati, electrification and intelligent transformation are no longer optional. Partnering with Chinese tech companies and relying on China's manufacturing system is the essential path to revitalizing its brand value and returning to the mainstream market.

Ultimately, the capital market and industry sentiment's intense focus on Maserati's rumors stems from a strong expectation of China's rising automotive technology influence and the emergence of domestic high-end brands.

The technology exports of China's new energy vehicle companies are revolutionizing the global automotive industry. In core technology areas, Chinese enterprises have achieved leadership, and their rapidly growing market share is reshaping the global competitive landscape. Traditional automotive giants are compelled to adjust their strategies, seeking technological capabilities through collaborations with Chinese companies.

The restructuring of the industrial chain and the transfer of standard-setting authority signify that the global automotive industry is entering the China Era.

In the future, beyond Maserati, more overseas luxury brands will likely humble themselves and embrace Chinese technology, manufacturing, and markets.

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