Audi teams up with Alibaba in onboard digital functions

German premium carmaker Audi is partnering with China's internet giant Alibaba to improve its in-car applications to better meet the demands of tech-savvy Chinese customers.

In a statement on Friday, Audi said they will work together to mainly focus on navigation and digital assistant services.

"This strong alliance will surely enable Audi to better serve our Chinese customers. It is further proof of our 'In China, For China' commitment," says Audi China President Werner Eichhorn.

China is Audi's largest market worldwide, accounting for over 40 percent of its global deliveries. Despite the pandemic, Audi sold more than 580,080 vehicles in China in the first 10 months this year, up 5.4 percent year-on-year.

Audi's cooperation with Alibaba's navigation subsidiary NavInfo started in 2006. NavInfo said this time it will provide not only its products but also R&D support for Audi's local innovations.

New functions being developed include underground parking lot navigation, lane-level navigation, and navigation specifically designed for new energy vehicles.

"Since we are all facing the future of intelligent driving, we will for the first time to provide our full capabilities to Audi, not only including our next-generation navigation technology but most importantly the high definition map," said NavInfo President Liu Zhenfei.

Besides navigation, Audi is including Alibaba's in-car digital assistant service Tmall Genie in the carmaker's self-developed connectivity platform.

Tmall Genie is a service-oriented smart assistant that aims to connect different terminals and platforms in the fields of automobiles, real estate, smart homes and hotels.

Ku Wei, president of Tmall Genie, said:"Users can enjoy intelligent services simply with one ID. We will also explore more intelligent lifestyle options in the vehicle scenarios with our carmaker partners. We hope to help car owners enjoy high-quality services conveniently."