HUAWEI and Volkswagen partnering for connected cars effort

This week at the International Consumer Electronics Show in Shanghai, notable Chinese smartphone maker HUAWEI announced a partnership with Volkswagen to bring connectivity to cars. Together they showed off a suite of apps that will allow users of HUAWEI phones to safely link their devices to infotainment systems mounted in select Volkswagen vehicles. Included in this suite are apps to aid navigation, text messaging, music, and phone calls.

To manage all of this information in real-time, HUAWEI has utilised MirrorLink to seamlessly connect devices. MirrorLink is an open technology standard designed to bring instant information to the car screen. It has gained ground abroad, but has not  been introduced to the US.

Android Auto has also began rollout in the US, and Google has also created a partnership with Volkswagen, so it is unclear about how much ground MirrorLink will gain in the US, if any. Currently, only the Volkswagen Lamando and Golf 7 are running MirrorLink with HUAWEI’s suite of vehicle safety apps, and both are locally produced in China. Still, it’s good to see more manufacturers taking smartphone/automobile connectivity seriously.