Qiankun ADS (Autonomous Driving Solution) by Huawei: status and timeline

Qiankun ADS (Autonomous Driving Solution)

Autonomous driving platform in multiple versions. ADS 4 (April 2025) reduced latency by 50% and heavy-braking rate by 30%. ADS 5 (April 2026) deployed across 80+ vehicle models with custom Qiankun OS.

DeployStage 4 of 5

ADS 4 April 2025, ADS 5 April 2026. Deployed in 80+ vehicle models including HIMA brands.

Updated Apr 2026Checked 10 Oct0 updates this week

Milestones

Next · Large-scale L3 highway deployment target

ADS reaches 1 million installations2024Complete.
ADS 4 launched with WEWA architectureApr 2025Complete.
ADS 5 and Qiankun OS launchedApr 2026Complete.
Large-scale L3 highway deployment targetTarget 2026Current milestone.
L4 urban pilot programs launch (subject to regulatory approval)Target Q4 2026Not yet reached.

Most important updates

Upcoming

2026Large-scale L3 highway deployment target (next)
Q4 2026L4 urban pilot programs launch (subject to regulatory approval)
Dec 20263 million vehicle cumulative installations

Current obstacles

L3 highway scaling and regulatory approvalLarge-scale L3 needs regional certification. Insurance liability unclear in most markets.
L4 urban autonomy is technically hardIntersections, pedestrians, complex scenarios harder than highway. Edge cases still challenge.

Physics limits

LiDAR range and occlusionEven 250-meter detection cannot see beyond hills or thick rain. The system must rely on older, safer driving at the boundary of perception.
Regulatory uncertainty in most marketsMost countries lack clear liability rules for L3–L4 vehicles. Insurance and law must evolve before wide deployment can proceed.

How it works

4 parts

Multi-sensor fusion

LiDAR, camera and radar together

192-line front LiDAR, three 4D millimeter-wave radars, two cameras, six ultrasonic sensors. Redundancy handles rain, fog and occlusion.

WEWA architecture (ADS 4+)

Cloud-to-car computation split

World Engine runs on Huawei cloud (maps, traffic). World Action Model on vehicle (real-time control). Cuts latency 50%.

Qiankun OS (ADS 5+)

Purpose-built driving operating system

Custom automotive OS with deterministic real-time guarantees, replacing generic Linux for safety and control.

HIMA ecosystem

Vertically integrated alliance

Huawei IAS controls design, testing and delivery for HIMA brands (Aito, Luxeed, Stelato, Maextro) for consistent experience.

Spec sheet

Spec	Qiankun ADS (Autonomous Driving Solution)
Cumulative installations	1.9+ million vehicles^R (reported)
Cumulative ADS mileage	10+ billion kilometers^R (reported)
ADS 4 end-to-end latency improvement	50% reduction vs prior version^R (reported)
ADS 4 heavy-braking rate reduction	30% improvement^R (reported)
LiDAR detection range	250 meters^R (reported)
Vehicle models with ADS by end of 2026	80+ models^R (reported)

^R reported by the company

Update log

3 updates

Apr 2026

Minor: Huawei Qiankun ADS cumulative mileage surpasses 10 billion kilometersPressTest
Major: Huawei launches Qiankun ADS 5.0 and proprietary Qiankun OS at technology conferencePressSoftware

Apr 2025

Major: Huawei launches Qiankun ADS 4.0 with WEWA architecture, reducing latency by 50% and heavy-braking rate by 30%PressSoftware

About Huawei

The team behind Qiankun ADS (Autonomous Driving Solution)

Huawei

Ascend NPU, Atlas SuperPoD, telecommunications

Huawei designs semiconductors, cloud systems and telecoms gear in 170 countries. Founded 1987, it grew to lead telecoms infrastructure. Now competing directly with NVIDIA in AI accelerators with the Ascend chip series.

Operates in 170+ countries across cloud, AI, telecoms, consumer devices and transport systems.
Ascend roadmap: 950/960/970 series at one-year cycles, each doubling compute. 950PR Q1 2026, 950DT Q4 with proprietary HBM.
Atlas 950 SuperPoD (8,192 NPUs) delivers triple H20 inference performance at quarter the cost, shown at MWC 2026.

huawei.com (opens huawei.com)Company profile →

Founded: 198739 yrs
Headquarters: China
Status: Private
Valuation: private
Staff: ~213,000Jan 2026
Works in: ComputingAI accelerators & CPUsVehicles
Coverage: 3 programs · 7 updateslatest 1 Apr 2026checked 10 Oct
Customers: DeepSeek (opens deepseek.com)BaiduAlibaba
Suppliers: SMIC
People: Ren Zhengfei (opens en.wikipedia.org)Founder and CEO

Spec

Qiankun ADS (Autonomous Driving Solution)

Cumulative installations

1.9+ million vehicles^R (reported)

Cumulative ADS mileage

10+ billion kilometers^R (reported)

ADS 4 end-to-end latency improvement

50% reduction vs prior version^R (reported)

ADS 4 heavy-braking rate reduction

30% improvement^R (reported)

LiDAR detection range

250 meters^R (reported)

Vehicle models with ADS by end of 2026

80+ models^R (reported)