(Yicai) Sept. 12 -- China's automobile and smartphone ecosystems are converging as Lynk & Co, a brand jointly owned by Geely Holding Group and Volvo Car, launched its latest model Lynk & Co 08 which features an operating system called Flyme Auto, co-developed by handset maker Meizu Technology.

"Many carmakers previously doubted whether vehicle manufacturers would need to make mobile phones," Lin Jie, senior vice president of Geely Automobile Holdings who oversees sales of Lynk & Co, said to Yicai when the latest electric sport-utility vehicle was launched on Sept. 8. "Vehicles have become smart products that need to connect to more terminal devices, such as cellphones and smart home appliances, to become truly intelligent," Lin added.

Debuted on March 30, Flyme Auto was developed by Xingji Meizu Group, a joint venture between Geely’s tech firm Xingji Shidai Technology and smartphone manufacturer Meizu. The operating system helps vehicle owners connect their phones to their cars, share software, transfer their phone displays to the infotainment screen, and search where the vehicle is parked.

Huawei Technologies kicked off the race to integrate cars with handsets. Electric vehicle startup Nio is developing mobile phones, while carmakers Changan Automobile and Volkswagen Group, as well as tech giants such as Baidu and Tencent Holdings, are all building smart cockpits.

The motivation is about user experience and costs. If a carmaker uses other manufacturers' cellphones, it cannot create the best experience and may bear huge costs, Lin said. For example, auto companies need to pay mobile phone manufacturers for every linked NFC key, he said, explaining the demand for in-house technologies.

China has higher penetration of smart automotive cockpits than anywhere in the world. The related penetration rate of new vehicles was 48.8 percent as of 2020 and may reach 75 percent by 2025, whereas the global rate may rise to 59.4 percent, according to IHS.

Editor: Emmi Laine