Huawei, Volkswagen collaborate on integrating car-smartphone interaction

NEW DELHI: Huawei and Volkswagen announced plans to cooperate in the area of car connectivity, unveiling technology that integrates smartphone functions with vehicle-mounted systems and allows drivers to use those functions safely while driving.

At the International Consumer Electronics Show Asia in Shanghai, Huawei and Volkswagen jointly demonstrated a series of apps that safely allow drivers to use GPS navigation systems, play music, send and receive messages, and make phone calls while behind the wheel. The apps support MirrorLink, an open technology standard designed to maximize interoperability between smartphones and vehicle-mounted systems. They cover multiple services including phone calls, SMS, navigation, multimedia, and payment that are all centered on smartphones.

Sven Patuschka, executive vice president for research and development of Volkswagen Group China, said: “Our cooperation with Huawei will seamlessly blend the capabilities of users’ smartphones with the systems in their cars. All content on the phone will be shown in real time on the car’s infotainment touch screen. The result is smart and convenient interaction between phone and car.”

Richard Yu, CEO of Huawei Consumer BG, observed that vehicles are turning out to be the largest mobile smart terminals. With rich experience in vehicle-mounted smart devices, data, and cloud platforms, Huawei believes its collaboration with Volkswagen will give drivers a seamless entertainment experience while driving comfortably and safely.

The first locally produced Volkswagen model equipped with MirrorLink is the Lamando, followed by the also locally produced Golf 7.

All imported Volkswagen products from the model year 2016 will be equipped with MirrorLink.

The Volkswagen Passenger Cars brand is one of 12 brands belonging to the Volkswagen Group. One of the world’s most successful automobile manufacturers, the Group delivered more than 10 million vehicles to customers worldwide last year. Volkswagen entered China almost 32 years ago, and today China is its biggest market worldwide. In 2014, Volkswagen Passenger Cars delivered 2.76 million cars to Chinese customers.

Meanwhile, the sales revenue of Huawei Consumer Business Group (BG) in 2014 was $12.1 billion, breaking the $10 billion mark for the first time, with year-on-year growth of 32.6 percent. In addition to the car connectivity field, Huawei is  active in wearables and smart homes. The company is establishing a health data platform for wearables, taking advantage of the huge user base of its devices like P8, Mate7, Huawei Watch, TalkBand N1, and smart bracelet TalkBand B2. Huawei is seeking cooperation with cross-industry partners to build open and integrated standards for a range of consumer goods.