Tencent teams up with Chinese automaker Geely on driverless and smart car tech

China’s Tencent has teamed up with automaker Geely on various car technologies as traditional vehicle manufacturers continue to partner technology giants.

The deal will see the two work on areas “in the fields of digitalization, intelligent cockpits, autonomous drive, and low carbon development,” the companies said.

This will include making the development cycle of a car more digital, adding smart applications to the driver’s cockpit, and eventually exploring autonomous driving systems.

Tencent has a cloud computing division and develops artificial intelligence applications, which could be useful when it comes to the auto sector.

Geely has been looking to boost its tech prowess through partnering with major technology firms.

This month, Baidu created a standalone electric vehicle company with Geely as a minority shareholder that will be responsible for manufacturing.

Meanwhile, Apple iPhone supplier Foxconn and Geely created a joint venture aimed at selling manufacturing and services to the global auto industry.