Chinese automaker Chang'an and tech giant Huawei are expanding their new energy vehicle partnership after announcing on Tuesday in Chongqing that Avatr, a Chang'an-affiliated NEV company, will acquire a 10 percent stake in Huawei's smart auto business Yinwang for 11.5 billion yuan ($1.6 billion).

The deal values Yinwang at 115 billion yuan. Avatr is a joint venture between Chang'an Automobile, lithium-ion battery provider CATL and Huawei. Shenzhen Yinwang Intelligent Technology Co Ltd, established in January by Huawei, focuses on smart in-car device manufacturing, automotive component R&D and basic AI-enabled software R&D. Huawei holds the remaining 90 percent of Yinwang.

According to the agreement, Chang'an Automobile and Huawei will comprehensively upgrade their strategic cooperation in brand and ecology, cloud and AI technology, green energy, industrial chain cooperation and other fields, and give full play to the advantages of both sides to help industrial upgrading and development.

Zhu Huarong, chairman of Chang'an Automobile, said that the company fully supports Avatr in becoming the first enterprise to be a shareholder of Yinwang and praised the partnership as "the most vivid case of an open platform for the joint participation of the automobile industry".

"Avatr's investment fully reflects the strategic intention of Chang'an. As the most important brand strategy carrier of Chang'an, Avatr represents the high-end development direction of the company," he said at the signing ceremony.

Chongqing, a major industrial hub in Southwest China, has already registered three firsts in the country in the first half of the year in terms of auto production, NEV production growth and sales of high-end models, according to the Chongqing Economic and Information Technology Commission.

From January to June, Chongqing's auto production reached 1.214 million units. Its NEV output was 391,000 units — a year-on-year increase of 50 percent — much higher than the national average of 30.1 percent. Its growth rate ranked first among the country's top 10 provinces and cities for automobile production.