Geely, Tencent to Team Up on Connected Cars, Smart Vehicle Systems Amid Surge in Chinese Auto Market

The massive Chinese automaker, who owns Swedish auto firm Volvo and nearly a tenth of Daimler, said it would work with Tencent to build next-generation smart car cockpits and autonomous vehicles.

Carmaker Zhejiang Geely Holding Group will team up with Chinese tech giant Tencent Holdings Ltd to build new smart vehicle systems and autonomous vehicles, the company announced in a statement on Tuesday.

The global automotive industry had been facing "profound changes" and new technologies were "restructuring the industrial ecology.

“With a cooperative relationship spanning three years, Geely and Tencent is now deepening their partnership and working to digitalize the entire automotive value chain. At the same time, we hope to fulfil our responsibility to society by jointly promoting sustainable low carbon development throughout the automotive industry,” An Conghui, Geely Holding Group president and president and CEO of Geely Auto Group said in a statement.

Tencent has also invested in electric vehicle firms such as China's Nio and US-based Tesla Motors. The firm also launched a partnership with the London Electric Vehicle Company (LEVC) in 2017 to build electric taxis across the country.

— Tesla (@Tesla) January 18, 2021

The news comes as Tesla announced on Monday it had begun deliveries of its Model Y vehicles in China, a major step in boosting the world's largest auto market.

Model 3 units were launched last year after Tesla's Gigafactory 3 began production in Shanghai in 2019.

Additional competitors have entered China's market in recent years, including Germany's BMW and Volkswagen, after Berlin and Beijing inked deals to cooperate on electric vehicle and EV battery production.

China and the European Union also struck a long-awaited comprehensive trade agreement, the largest bilateral deal in history, which includes boosting cooperation on electric vehicle production for Beijing and Brussels.