Comprehensive information on the HiCar certification process is scarce online. Huawei's official developer documentation focuses more on code development and projection protocol adaptation, rarely covering the entire journey from Market Entry agreement to final certificate issuance. Many projects fail not due to technical integration issues, but because the process rules were not understood upfront.

I've seen numerous Tier 1 suppliers complete software debugging and demo projection working smoothly, only to stall at the Market Entry stage for two months. No functional bugs – purely because the pre-certification process wasn't properly mapped out.

1. HiCar Access Prerequisites – Understanding the Basic Thresholds

·Ecosystem Partner Agreement
HiCar is not an open protocol – you cannot simply pay a test fee and start certification. The first step is to register a Huawei Developer Alliance account and sign the HiCar Ecosystem Partner Agreement. Without this, you cannot obtain HiCar SDK debugging authorisation. The signing entity must provide a valid business licence and evidence of in-vehicle product development capability – Huawei reviews both corporate qualifications and project background. After the agreement is in place, Huawei assigns a dedicated technical contact to support subsequent debugging and certification work.

·HiCar SDK Authorisation
Once the agreement is signed and platform access is enabled, you can download the corresponding HiCar SDK. The in-vehicle SDK comes mainly in Linux and Android versions – selection depends on your head unit's underlying OS. Critical point often missed: SDKs are not permanently supported after download. Huawei defines maintenance windows for each SDK version – as HarmonyOS evolves, older SDK versions are gradually phased out. Even if functions work today, when the version transition window arrives, products with old SDKs cannot complete certificate renewal.

·Hardware Prerequisites
Many R&D teams mistakenly believe HiCar only checks software adaptation – in reality, hardware compatibility often fails during the first test round. Head unit hardware must be checked against official specifications for screen resolution, touch protocol, Bluetooth, and Wi‑Fi hardware. Two communication links must be aligned during development:

If you use a standardised module that already holds HiCar certification, the end product can apply for derivative simplified testing.

·Wired USB HiCar uses NCM network channels for projection data.

·Wireless mode uses BLE for device discovery, exchanges networking parameters via classic Bluetooth RFCOMM, then establishes a Wi‑Fi P2P projection channel.

  2. HiCar Development and Debugging – Pre-Certification Preparation

·Feature Integration and Adaptation
After obtaining the SDK, integrate HiCar capabilities into the head unit system – touch mapping, audio channel switching, projection rendering, Bluetooth calling, and voice assistant wake-up – all must be fully adapted. Special note: non-standard screens and rotating displays require additional touch-coordinate conversion handling; standard fixed-ratio landscape screens have less adaptation work and do not need pixel-level correction.

·Internal Self-Testing and Remote Debugging
After basic functions are complete, run a full CTS self-test and retain complete logs – these must be uploaded with the formal test application. You may proactively request Huawei technical support for remote debugging to verify interaction logic item by item. However, remote debugging is a technical support service – not a mandatory certification step. Huawei has strict interaction-quality requirements – high touch latency, audio-switching pop sounds, or frequent Bluetooth disconnections will all require remediation. We recommend running internal stability stress testing before engaging Huawei – don't wait until the Huawei interface to expose all issues.

  3. HiCar Formal Certification Testing

·Submit Test Application
After all internal tests pass, initiate the formal certification application on the Huawei Developer Alliance platform. Upload the product specification sheet, HiCar feature list, hardware documentation, UI screenshots, interaction flow diagrams, and the complete self-test report. After application approval, a test task order is assigned – defining the test timeline and liaison contact.

·Authorised Lab Formal Testing
Final HiCar certification testing is performed only by Huawei-designated third-party authorised labs – in-house self-test reports cannot substitute. Test coverage includes: connection success rate, touch response latency, Bluetooth voice quality, voice assistant wake-up performance, audio routing stability, wireless projection quality and latency, and USB wired connection compatibility. The lab issues a defect list – all non-conformities must be remediated and retested. Projects with thorough pre-adaptation complete in 2–3 weeks; those with many interaction defects often stretch to 1–2 months.

  4. HiCar Review, Certificate Issuance, and Ongoing Compliance

·Huawei Internal Final Review
After the lab issues a passing test report, all materials are submitted for Huawei's internal final review. This review checks not only test data but also overall user interaction experience – obvious experience defects will be rejected for remediation.

·Certificate Issuance and Long-Term Maintenance
After review approval, the HiCar Compatibility Certificate is issued – verifiable on Huawei's official channels. Critical rule often overlooked: the HiCar certificate is valid for one year – renewal must be initiated before expiry; beyond that, the certificate automatically expires. For minor software optimisations with hardware unchanged, a simplified renewal process applies. Replacing RF hardware or major HiCar SDK version upgrades – renewal is not possible; full re-certification is required. Continuously track SDK maintenance policies – avoid being unable to maintain compliance when old SDKs reach end-of-life.

For HiCar certification steps, contact BlueAsia at 13534225140 (King) or king.guo@cblueasia.com.