Huawei on Thursday struck a partnership with German car giant Volkswagen that will see the companies work together to integrate smartphone functions into vehicles.
The announcement comes days after Huawei reached a separate connected car agreement with Audi.
Huawei and Volkswagen have developed a range of navigation, communication and entertainment apps that use MirrorLink – a technology specification for synchronising smartphones with a car’s infotainment system over any supported interface, be it Bluetooth, WiFi or USB.
Huawei and Volkswagen emphasised the need for technology like MirrorLink to enable the safe use of communications services by drivers.
Indeed, a recent report from the U.S. National Safety Council (NSC) revealed that mobile phones are a factor in 27% of all car accidents there.
"Our cooperation with Huawei will seamlessly blend the capabilities of users’ smartphones with the systems in their cars," said Sven Patuschka, executive vice president of R&D at Volkswagen China, in a statement.
Volkswagen has been present in China for 32 years, and in 2014 its passenger car division sold 2.76 million vehicles there.
The first MirrorLink-equipped Volkswagen produced in China will be the Lamando saloon, followed by the Golf. From 2016, all Volkswagens produced for the Chinese market will ship with MirrorLink.
"All content on the phone will be shown in real time on the car’s infotainment touch screen. The result is sm art and convenient interaction between phone and car," Patuschka said.
Meanwhile, earlier this week, Huawei announced a partnership with another car maker, Audi, that will see the Chinese vendor’s 2G, 3G and FDD/TDD-LTE modules embedded in Audi’s new Q7 SUV.
