ZTE, China’s second-largest telecoms equipment maker, has recently teamed up with Chery, one of the country’s largest private carmakers, to collaborate on 5G technology use cases.
The two companies would join forces to explore the convergence of cutting edge technologies including 5G, cloud computing, intelligent driving, and AR/VR, according to Tencent News.
A subsidiary of ZTE had already set up a joint venture with Chery’s new energy arm in China’s Anhui Province last Saturday. ZTE was brought to a near-collapse last year by the US government’s denial order which cut off the company from some essential supplies.
The cooperation of ZTE and Chery is part of a broader trend of telecoms giants wading into the carmaking business. China’s largest telecoms equipment maker Huawei has also signalled strong interests in applying 5G technology to cars.
Huawei has set up a business unit for smart car solutions in late May, leaving no doubt of its ambition to take a share of the “internet of vehicles” market.
Huawei has also reportedly been in touch with big-name carmakers including Volkswagen’s Audi, China’s GAC Group, Beijing New Energy Automobile and Changan Automobile, according to the Financial Times.