Chinese mobile telecoms giant Huawei this week said it had signed an agreement to provide Volkswagen Group with 4G connectivity services for its connected vehicles, according to local reports in China.
The source suggested this was the largest such deal yet in the automotive industry and reflected a major shift in China towards intelligent, connected vehicles. No financial details have been released, however.
Huawei has been targeting new growth segments since being shut out of many mobile communications equipment markets in the west due to data security concerns.
The company is also looking to grow in the software and cloud-computing segments.
Volkswagen said in a statement: “We welcome that a leading ICT (information communication technology) company has granted one of our suppliers a licence for standard, essential mobile communications patents.”
“This licensing in the supply chain is a model of how the increasingly close cooperation between the mobility industry and the information and communications industry can succeed.”
