In a recent report by the *Financial Times*, it was revealed that China's top internet giants—Baidu, Alibaba, and Tencent—have spent the past five years competing to dominate smartphone screens with their most popular apps. However, they are now shifting their focus toward the development of intelligent, connected vehicles, often referred to as "smartphones on wheels." As the automotive industry evolves, operating systems are becoming the next major battleground in this fast-growing sector.
Zebra, a joint venture between Alibaba and SAIC Motor, has taken a leading role in creating an in-car operating system that mirrors the functionality of smartphones. Their platform, originally called YunOSAuto, was rebranded as AliOS last month. It was first introduced in the Roewe RX5 SUV and was hailed as "the world’s first mass-produced connected car" when it launched in July 2016. Since then, the RX5 has seen impressive sales growth, becoming one of China’s top-selling SUVs by July 2017, with over 300,000 users of AliOS.
A customer satisfaction survey showed that 70% of buyers chose the RX5 primarily due to its advanced operating system and large touchscreen interface. Looking ahead, Zebra plans to open up AliOS to developers and automakers, following a strategy similar to Google’s Android, which aims to increase market penetration through third-party support.
This month, Zebra also announced a partnership with Dongfeng Peugeot-Citroën, a French-Chinese joint venture. The collaboration will see Citroën launch its first connected car equipped with AliOS next year. Additionally, Zebra is preparing to unveil a new automotive project soon, as its exclusive agreement with SAIC is set to expire. Zebra CEO Alex Shi emphasized the company’s vision: "We aim to authorize both manufacturers and end users through Alibaba’s ecosystem and data." He also mentioned that non-driving-related software, such as entertainment and shopping services, could soon become key selling points for cars.
Tencent, another major player, recently formed a joint venture with Guangzhou Automobile Group, signaling a similar push into the connected car space. According to Chi Tsang, an analyst at HSBC in Hong Kong, the automotive industry is on the verge of a major transformation. "Many internet companies believe the next computing platform will be the car," he said. "Having an operating system in the vehicle gives them a significant opportunity to control this new platform."
These moves by Chinese tech giants may challenge traditional Western automakers, who worry about losing control over software and applications in their vehicles. Manufacturing safety, environmental standards, and supply chain complexities make the automotive industry far more intricate than smartphone production. Some car executives are relieved they won’t have to become purely hardware-focused in the near future.
In China, however, connectivity is increasingly shaping consumer preferences. A McKinsey study found that when buying a car, the look and functionality of the software can even outweigh the quality of the hardware. Andy Gao, a McKinsey expert in the Chinese automotive industry, noted that Chinese consumers are more integrated with technology, making car connectivity a natural extension of their daily lives.
The research also showed that 64% of Chinese consumers would switch brands for better connectivity, compared to just 37% in the U.S. and 19% in Germany. Connectivity has become a must-have feature in China, driving demand for smarter, more connected vehicles.
Chinese companies are also working to replace foreign solutions like Apple CarPlay and Google Android Auto. Baidu introduced Baidu CarLife in 2015, a platform similar to CarPlay, and later launched DuerOS, an AI-powered voice recognition system. However, Baidu’s main focus in the auto industry remains on autonomous driving through its Apollo platform, which includes hardware, software, and cloud services for self-driving cars.
While operating systems like AliOS may not be as ambitious as driverless software, they offer internet companies a crucial way to integrate their services into vehicles. Just as Windows and Android serve as portals for PCs and smartphones, Zebra’s Alex Shi believes that the car’s operating system will act as the gateway to all in-vehicle applications. However, he doesn’t foresee any single OS dominating the entire automotive market as Windows does in personal computing.
"In the future, internet companies will empower car manufacturers," he said. "But I believe large car manufacturers will still be the top players in the industry."
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