Huawei and Volkswagen Collaborate to Connect Automobiles and Smartphones

At the International Consumer Electronics Show Asia in Shanghai this week, 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. More models will follow. 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 US dollars, breaking the US$10 billion mark for the first time, with year-on-year growth of 32.6%. 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.

About Huawei 

Huawei is a leading global information and communications technology (ICT) solutions provider. Our aim is to enrich life and improve efficiency through a better connected world, acting as a responsible corporate citizen, innovative enabler for the information society, and collaborative contributor to the industry. Driven by customer-centric innovation and open partnerships, Huawei has established an end-to-end ICT solutions portfolio that gives customers competitive advantages in telecom and enterprise networks, devices and cloud computing. Huawei’s 170,000 employees worldwide are committed to creating maximum value for telecom operators, enterprises and consumers. Our innovative ICT solutions, products and services are used in more than 170 countries and regions, serving over one-third of the world's population. Founded in 1987, Huawei is a private company fully owned by its employees.