Huawei Paves the Road for Next-Gen Cars

Collaborates with Audi Group and Volkswagen to Explore Interconnected Car Technology

In what can be termed as a futuristic step for smart cars, Huawei has two new automotive collaborations with Audi Group and Volkswagen up its sleeve.

Creating an enhanced driving experience for consumers, the separate partnerships will ultimately aim to provide users with internet-enabled features in their cars while integrating smartphone functions with vehicle-mounted systems.

The partnership with Audi Group to jointly explore the future of interconnected car technology at the Consumer Electronics Show Asia (CES Asia) 2015. Huawei’s LTE modules provide the new Audi Q7 SUV with the ability to support 2G, 3G and 4G networks, TDD-LTE and FDD-LTE standards. Enabling lightning fast data transfers with download speeds of up to 100Mbps, the partnership provides users with internet-enabled key features for an enhanced driving experience.

Huawei and Volkswagen also 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.

“By partnering with industry-leading automobile companies, Huawei aims to bring the best interconnection services and solutions to the next generation of cars, while actively promoting interaction between cars, smartphones, wearables and people; creating a seamless communication experience and driving environment,” said Richard Yu, CEO of Huawei Consumer Business Group, Huawei.

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.”