Shanghai aims high with intelligent and connected vehicle strategy

China is counting on connected vehicle technology to help address a number of urban mobility challenges, from traffic congestion to road collisions. Automakers have been developing a wide range of intelligent and connected vehicle (ICV) technologies for the China market over the past few years. The exact functionality on offer varies by brand. BMW models, for instance, have been enabled to use a handful of popular Chinese smartphone apps, including Weibo. Audi China and the FAW-Volkswagen joint venture have teamed with Alibaba, Baidu and Tencent to collaborate on such areas as data analysis, Internet-vehicle platform building and urban intelligent transport. Audi has also said that the first market for its upcoming 5G-connected cars will not be its home base of Europe, but rather China.