ZhiJie is gearing up for a comeback: The V9 has set an annual target of 120,000 units | Exclusive from 36Kr

Zhijie, an automotive brand jointly created by Huawei and Chery, is pinning its hopes of a turnaround on the Zhijie V9.

36Kr has learned that Zhijie V9 has set an annual production target of approximately 120,000 units for its suppliers. This sales guidance is close to the annual sales volume of the Buick GL8, the "evergreen" in the MPV market last year.

According to 36Kr, currently, two battery suppliers, CATL and CALB, have prepared a combined monthly production capacity of over 10,000 sets for the Zhijie V9. Some suppliers are also preparing spare parts based on a peak production capacity of 15,000 units per month. Judging from the spare - part preparation of the supply chain, suppliers have initially recognized the sales guidance of the Zhijie V9.

Industry insiders close to Zhijie told 36Kr that Zhijie is planning a coupe model with a goal to achieve an extremely high - performance target. This car may be sent to the Nürburgring track to challenge a number of foreign luxury super - cars. Obviously, this move by Zhijie is in line with the strategies of performance - oriented automotive brands like Xiaomi, aiming to build a perception of performance and high - end in consumers' minds through the results on the Nürburgring track.

Zhijie is a complete - vehicle brand jointly created by Huawei and Chery through the Smart Selection Vehicle model. The Smart Selection Vehicle model is also known as the HarmonyOS Smart Mobility model. Under this cooperation model, Huawei is deeply involved in the product definition, marketing, and distribution channels of the complete vehicle.

The Zhijie V9 is the third model of the Zhijie brand and the first MPV of the HarmonyOS Smart Mobility brand. It is equipped with Huawei's Kunlun ADS 4 high - level assisted driving system and an 896 - line dual - optical - path lidar. It will be officially launched in May this year.

Before the Zhijie V9, the Zhijie brand already had two models, the R7 and the S7. However, according to the production and sales report of the Chery Group, in 2025, the cumulative sales of the Zhijie brand were less than 100,000 units. Therefore, the Zhijie V9 undoubtedly shoulders the heavy responsibility of leading Zhijie to break through in sales and elevate the brand. But for the HarmonyOS Smart Mobility system, how to avoid the competition between the Zhijie V9 and the upcoming Zunjie MPV to the greatest extent tests the product rhythm control ability of HarmonyOS Smart Mobility.

Betting on the Zhijie V9, Zhijie Seeks a Sales Fulcrum

In August last year, Huawei and Chery held a signing ceremony in Shenzhen, announcing that the Zhijie brand had entered the 2.0 era. According to the agreement, the two parties will invest more than 10 billion yuan in the Zhijie brand and form a R & D team of 5,000 people.

The background of this signing ceremony is that the Zhijie brand jointly created by Huawei and Chery has not achieved a major breakthrough in sales for a long time. Compared with brands like Zunjie and Wenjie, Zhijie still has great market potential to be tapped in its ecological niche. In 2025, the production and sales report of the Chery Group showed that the annual cumulative sales of the Zhijie brand were less than 100,000 units. Therefore, the Zhijie brand urgently needs to find a sales fulcrum.

The Zhijie V9 is the first all - new model after Zhijie entered the 2.0 era. Zhijie has spared no effort to win the battle for the V9.

First, there have been a series of personnel adjustments. At the beginning of this year, the Zhijie brand announced that Zhao Changjiang, the former general manager of Denza, joined Zhijie as an executive director, responsible for the brand, distribution channels, etc. In April this year, the Zhijie brand also announced that Guo Rui, the former CMO of Honor, would serve as the CEO of Zhijie. Zhao Changjiang once managed the Denza D9, also an MPV model. In 2025, the cumulative sales of the Denza D9 were approximately 100,000 units, second only to the Buick GL8. Guo Rui once led the construction of a brand marketing system covering more than 100 countries and regions around the world at Honor.

Along with the personnel changes, Zhijie has also made investments in distribution channels and production lines. Zhao Changjiang once told 36Kr that Zhijie plans to build more than 200 exclusive sales networks for Zhijie this year. Guo Rui also said in an interview with the media: "To ensure that the quality of the V9 meets the standards of the flagship '9 Series', Zhijie has invested 1 billion yuan to build a brand - new welding production line."

In addition to driving the brand's sales, the Zhijie V9 also shoulders the mission of leading the Zhijie brand to move upmarket. Yu Chengdong, the executive chairman of Huawei, once publicly stated: "The V9 will be positioned in the 300,000 - yuan market segment, but its configuration level will exceed that of million - yuan luxury cars."

The first two models of Zhijie, the R7 and the S7, are both positioned in the market below 300,000 yuan. However, judging from Huawei's past in the mobile phone industry and the market performance of high - end automotive brands like Wenjie and luxury automotive brands like Zunjie, the high - end market is Huawei's comfort zone. With its technological core and luxurious exterior, Huawei can easily obtain brand premium and high - end market share.

Therefore, when Zhijie seeks to break through in sales, it seems logical to target the high - end market, which Huawei is more familiar with.

In addition, 36Kr has also learned from industry insiders close to Zhijie that Zhijie is planning a coupe model and has the idea of sending this car to the Nürburgring track. The launch of this coupe may accelerate the upmarket transformation of the Zhijie brand.

The Zhijie V9 Aims to Be a Dark Horse in the MPV Market, with Both Advantages and Challenges

The Zhijie V9 has set an annual production target of approximately 120,000 units for its suppliers, which means that this car needs to achieve approximately 10,000 deliveries per month on average. Considering the new - car effect when the V9 is first launched, Zhijie has set a peak sales target of approximately 15,000 units for the V9.

Two battery suppliers, CATL and CALB, have prepared a combined monthly production capacity of over 10,000 sets for the Zhijie V9. Some suppliers have prepared a production capacity of 15,000 sets per month for the Zhijie V9. Judging from the supply - chain spare - part preparation, the suppliers of the Zhijie V9 have initially recognized the sales guidance set by Zhijie.

If the Zhijie V9 really achieves an annual sales volume of 120,000 units, what does this mean? Last year, the Buick GL8, the benchmark model in the MPV market, had an annual sales volume of approximately 122,400 units, with an average monthly sales volume of approximately 10,000 units.

Judging from the sales guidance Zhijie has given to its suppliers, the Zhijie V9 clearly has the ambition to shake up the existing pattern of the MPV market. Yu Chengdong also publicly stated during the Guangzhou Auto Show last year that this car will "surpass all flagship MPVs on the market."

To become a dark horse in the MPV market, the Zhijie V9, deeply empowered by Huawei, certainly has its advantages. However, it is worth noting that in the more brutal automotive market competition in 2026, the Zhijie V9 is also in a fierce competition with a series of MPV models.

In 2026, the Buick MPV family has undergone a full - line product renewal. According to official data from SAIC - GM, in early April this year, in the first week after the launch of the Buick GL8 Avenir fuel - powered version, the number of firm orders exceeded 8,200 units.

SAIC - GM, which has been relatively quiet in the Chinese market, will not let the Buick GL8 fail easily. Public information shows that at the beginning of this year, Lu Xiao, the general manager of SAIC - GM, said internally that they should "maintain the Buick GL8's position as the number one in the total sales volume in the MPV market. As the foundation of SAIC - GM, the company will continue to invest without reservation."

In addition to the Buick GL8, how to position multiple MPV models within the HarmonyOS Smart Mobility system is also a question that the enterprise needs to consider. This year, Zunjie will launch two MPV models, a standard - wheelbase version and a long - wheelbase version. The standard - wheelbase MPV focuses on the family - use orientation, while the long - wheelbase MPV focuses on the commercial - flagship orientation. At present, in the preliminary plan of Huawei and Jianghuai, the market prices of these two versions of MPVs will be significantly higher than the existing representative models in the family - use and commercial - use MPV markets.

As models under the HarmonyOS Smart Mobility brand and both targeting the MPV segment, the Zhijie V9 and the Zunjie MPV will inevitably be compared by the market. For HarmonyOS Smart Mobility, which is launching two MPVs in a year, how to distinguish between these two cars so that they can jointly capture more shares in the MPV market poses a test.

Although there are many competitors in the MPV market, the supply of high - quality products is still scarce. Moreover, in the luxury new - energy MPV market, there are indeed not many products that combine technology, intelligence, and space - scene experience. This may be the confidence for the Zhijie V9 to rewrite the MPV market pattern.

On April 21st, Zhao Changjiang posted on a social media platform, hinting that the Zhijie V9 will make up for the shortcomings of Apple's car. Zhijie seems to be quite confident about the market performance of this new car.

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