• Geely Auto to continue enhancing its existing 4G LTE connectivity capabilities while concurrently developing its 5G NR connectivity solution, including LTE-V2X
• Geely Auto works with Qualcomm Technologies to feature the Geely Smart Ecosystem (GKUI) and Qualcomm Snapdragon 820A platform in an upcoming Geely Auto vehicle

23 October 2018, Hong Kong – Geely Auto Group (Geely Auto), China’s leading automotive manufacturer and technology services provider, announced today that it will continue enhancing its existing 4G LTE network services while developing its 5G New Radio (5G NR) solutions for the future. This was confirmed during the company’s presentation on connectivity development at the Qualcomm 4G/5G Summit in Hong Kong held this week.

Speaking at the summit, Vice President of Geely Automobile Research Institute, Mr. Shen Zi Yu, said that Geely Auto has more than one million online connected vehicles presently on the road, and that all of Geely Auto’s car models released in 2018 are equipped with 4G LTE network services featuring advanced cellular products from Qualcomm Technologies, Inc., a subsidiary of Qualcomm Incorporated. He also anticipates that by the year 2021, all Geely Auto models will shift to utilizing 5G NR networks. In addition to cellular network technologies, Geely Auto is working with Qualcomm Technologies on LTE-V2X to improve road safety, traffic efficiency and to support automated driving with cellular direct communications technology supporting vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) and vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) communications. LTE-V2X is also known across the globe as C-V2X as the technology is evolving and is a going to be an important element of 5G NR automotive experiences.

“It is important that our customers have access to the best and fastest network services in the market. This is why Geely Auto will continue to improve its existing 4G LTE applications, while at the same time start to work on the future of connectivity, which is 5G NR,” said Shen.

He further added, “We are officially taking the next step towards a new era of human travel through intelligent electric travel and network sharing services. This will put us at the forefront of not just being a car maker, but also as a provider of cutting-edge technologies.”

Shen also emphasized that GKUI, Geely Auto’s newly launched smart ecosystem, is going through further enrichment. GKUI was designed by ECARX, an independently operated company that is strategically invested by Geely Auto. The system connects one’s mobile phone, car and home through its five core components, including a cloud data system, a launcher, an ID, a complete app ecosystem and an artificial intelligence engine.

“Over 600,000 Geely Auto car models have been equipped with GKUI to date. This includes Banting, a music app that provides over 14 million copyrighted songs and have just exceeded 45 million total number of plays in September alone. Besides that, a version of AMAP that is customised for infotainment head units in cars have garnered a large population of daily active users, half of whom are GKUI users. There are also more than 1,200 kinds of smart home devices that are readily connected to GKUI,” he commented.

Shen stressed that GKUI will soon receive an upgrade with an improved in-car smart voice assistant. It will employ a natural language understanding (NLU) mechanism as a main feature, allowing multi-turn conversations, interruptions and can even adopt a self-learning process.

As a pioneer of intelligent and connected cars revolution in China, GKUI is able to offer its expanding number of online users better and richer internet services with Over-the-Air (OTA) updating process. From a user’s point-of-view, GKUI provides car owners with the ultimate and satisfying experience in the one-hour that they spend in the car.

In September 2018, Geely Auto was ranked fourth in China’s automotive market with 124,429 units of monthly sales and an accumulated sales of 1,136,858 units from January to September 2018. This also places them in overall fourth place for the year and makes them the number one Chinese private automaker. As one of the most anticipated companies at the summit, Geely Auto played a significant role in sharing its outlooks on 5G NR.

During its presentation, Geely Auto also reaffirmed its interest in working with Qualcomm Technologies. Through the working relationship with ECARX, both companies are working together on LTE V2X, intelligent connectivity and smart driving. Additionally, an upcoming SUV featuring Qualcomm Technologies’ most advanced automotive-grade platform available today, the Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ 820A, will be launched by Geely Auto in 2019. With the GKUI and Snapdragon 820A platform, Geely Auto will be equipped to provide users with premium experiences.

“We look forward to feature Qualcomm Technologies solutions in providing our users with premium experiences when it comes to connectivity and safety, as well as improved traffic efficiency. Being leaders in our respective fields, we believe that combining our talents and resources should yield on overall positive outcome for our users”, concluded Shen.

“The automotive industry is experiencing an unprecedented pace of innovation driven by consumer demand for always-connected premium experiences, leading to intense interest in bringing 5G quickly into upcoming vehicle models,” said Nakul Duggal, vice president of product management, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. “We are excited to support Geely Auto in their plans for a fast transition into the 5G era and we look forward to working together in bringing next-generation connected car experiences to their customers.”