China's Huawei Tech aims to reach driverless car technology in 2025

The world's largest telecommunications equipment maker is looking to diversify its business in the face of US sanctions

BEIJING/SHENZHEN (Reuters) - China's Huawei Technologies aims to develop driverless passenger car technology by 2025, an executive said on Thursday, as the world's largest telecommunications equipment maker diversifies its business in the face of U.S. sanctions.

"Our team's goal is to reach true driverless passenger cars in 2025," Wang Jun, senior executive at Huawei's smart vehicle unit, told an industry conference.

Dozens of startups, automakers and large technology firms such as internet search leader Baidu Inc are accelerating work on self-driving vehicle systems which are expected to bring a sea change to the transportation industry.

Huawei has pivoted to smart electric vehicles after its global smartphone business was hammered by U.S. sanctions. The previous Trump administration labelled the company a threat to U.S. national security - a charge it denies.

 

(Reporting by Yilei Sun and David Kirton; Editing by Stephen Coates)