Hyundai and Kia are accelerating their efforts to conquer the Chinese connected car market in collaboration with the big tech company Baidu.
On the 27th, Hyundai Motor and Kia signed a ‘Strategic Cooperation MOU for China’s Connected Car’ at the Yosemite Hotel in Beijing, attended by Song Chang-hyun, Head of Advanced Vehicle Platform (AVP) at Hyundai Motor and Kia, Wang Yunpeng, Head of Baidu’s Intelligent Driving Group (IDG) and Vice President of Baidu Group, along with representatives from both companies.
This MOU was established in line with the shared goal and determination of both companies to lead the rapidly changing Chinese connected car market and provide innovative value experiences for customers. Both companies plan to strengthen their collaborative relationship and actively pursue the exploration of new businesses and the development of new technologies.
In the future, Hyundai and Kia plan to work with Baidu to develop advanced technologies in comprehensive areas including connectivity, autonomous driving, intelligent transportation systems, and cloud computing, aiming to create a new business ecosystem.
Additionally, they will actively engage in developing compliance solutions using Baidu’s smart cloud to respond to China’s tightening data regulations.
While continually enhancing the competitiveness of existing businesses, they also aim to discover new products and new business models that leverage artificial intelligence, a key aspect of their future strategy.
According to a report published in January by the China Commercial Industry Research Institute, the scale of China’s connected car market is expected to reach 215.2 billion yuan this year, with sales anticipated at around 17 million units. This represents a growth of 3.4 times in market size and 2.4 times in sales from 63.6 billion yuan and 7.2 million units in 2019.
In light of this situation, strengthening the collaboration with Baidu is expected to support Hyundai Group’s long-term software strategy, SDx (Software-defined everything).
Baidu is recognized for its top-level technology in connectivity, artificial intelligence, autonomous driving, and search engine fields in China.
A Hyundai and Kia representative stated, “The goal of SDx is to create optimized mobility devices and solutions that anyone can use, based on knowledge and innovation as the source of all movement. Through strategic collaboration with Baidu, we will strive to foster a connected car ecosystem in the Chinese market,” he said.
Meanwhile, Hyundai and Kia have been collaborating with Baidu for 10 years since 2014, applying various connectivity systems jointly developed with Baidu, including telematics navigation, voice recognition services, car-to-home, home-to-car, and smart content services to mass production vehicles.
Lee Sang-jin daedusj@autodiary.kr