Hongqi will make its own smartphone too, following Nio and Polestar

If you're a car maker in China, you have to have your own smartphone too. That seems to be the trendy thinking over there nowadays. Nio launched its smartphone last year, and Polestar will be joining it later this month (Polestar is owned by Chinese auto giant Geely).

Now another player is ready to get into it - we're talking about Hongqi, owned by China FAW. Hongqi will work with Geely-backed parts supplier Ecarx to create high-end Hongqi-branded smartphones.

As with Nio and Polestar, the main unique selling point here will be a touted better integration between the Hongqi smartphones and the Hongqi cars. Words like "ultimate connected smart interaction experience" have been thrown around in the official statement on the matter.

Ecarx and FAW signed the agreement for smartphone development today at the automaker's HQ in Changchun, Jilin, in northeast China. The cooperation's scope will include collaborating on "smart cockpit", the Hongqi OS, and the smartphones.

Hongqi is the premium New Energy Vehicle (NEV) arm of China FAW, with retail sales in 2023 of more than 85,000 units, up 135% compared to 2022.

Via