The Chinese concern Geely is announcing a partnership with a tech company for the third time in a short time. Internet company Tencent is to help Geely with the digitization of the group, the further development of autonomous driving and the construction of ‘intelligent cockpits’.
Tencent is relatively unknown to us, but in China it can be compared to what Google is to us. With the collaboration, Geely, parent company of Volvo and Polestar, among others, wants to further digitize itself, from product development and manufacturing to marketing and after-sales. In the cars themselves, the systems of Geely and Tencent will become further intertwined in ‘intelligent cockpits’ with the aim of adding extra functions and improving the user experience. Finally, the two parties want to work together on the further development of autonomous driving. Tencent is a suitable partner for Geely with its knowledge in the field of artificial intelligence.
Geely and Tencent are no strangers to each other, because both companies have been working together since 2018. Some models from Geely and Lynk & Co now even have technology from Tencent. Both companies now want to take that integration to a higher level.
Flirt with IT
For Geely, it is the third time in a short period of time that the group has entered into a partnership with the IT industry. Earlier, it announced a partnership with Baidu for the development and production of autonomous electric cars. Not long after, Geely revealed that it was working with producer Foxconn to advise other car manufacturers on future technologies and to help them manufacture them. How all these partnerships will materialize in practice remains to be seen.