Alibaba and FAW team up to deliver next-generation smart vehicles

The tie-up will leverage Alibaba’s Banma Network Technology platform to build a new intelligent connected vehicle operating system

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Xu Liuping, chairman of state-owned FAW Group, speaks at an event of Chinese car marque Hongqi, or Red Flag, held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, on January 8. Photo: Reuters

Published: 10:32pm, 9 Jan 2020Updated: 2:41pm, 20 Oct 2020

Alibaba Group Holding has teamed up with China’s state-owned FAW Group Corp to jointly build next-generation smart vehicles, as competition intensifies in the world’s largest car market ahead of the broader roll-out of 5G networks.

Their partnership will involve Banma Network Technology, an Alibaba-led open mobility platform, to develop a new intelligent connected vehicle operating system and help promote the use of digital intelligence in the car industry, according to a joint statement released by Alibaba and FAW on Thursday.

FAW – the Chinese joint venture partner of major industry players including Volkswagen, Toyota Motor Corp and Mazda Motor Corp – will also use Banma’s technologies and resources to help design “smart cockpit solutions” for its upcoming vehicles, the statement said.

This marks the first strategic alliance announced by Alibaba, the parent company of the South China Morning Post, since the e-commerce giant opened up its operating system for use by car industry partners in August last year.

An Alibaba spokeswoman said on Thursday that the two partners had no specific timeline to announce regarding their joint initiative.

The tie-up comes months after Dongfeng Motor Corp, one of China’s top five carmakers, partnered with Tencent Holdings and China Mobile to develop connected vehicle services in preparation for the wider roll-out of 5G services across the country.