BMW on board the Ali big model, Audi with Huawei intelligent driving!
BMW on board the Ali big model, Audi with Huawei intelligent driving!
From “market for technology” to “technology co-innovation”, overseas car companies have changed their strategies in the Chinese market.
March 26 news, this morning, the BMW Group and Alibaba Group jointly announced that in China to deepen the AI strategic cooperation, the two sides will be based on Ali Tongyi big model technology, co-development of the intelligent cockpit system, and plans to be the first to be equipped with the new generation of BMW models produced in 2026 in China.
This cooperation can be seen on the one hand as BMW's further acceleration in the intelligentization track, and on the other hand, it also reflects the industry trend of deep synergy between overseas car companies and Chinese technology companies. As of March this year, a number of overseas luxury car companies, including Mercedes-Benz BMW Audi, have begun to choose to embrace the power of China's science and technology, hoping to achieve further development in the Chinese market through technological complementarity and localized innovation.
With the importance of China's auto market rising year by year, more and more overseas car companies have begun to pay more attention to the localization of automobiles.
BBA began to put down once in the intelligent layout of the “arrogance”, to join the current car intelligent competition.
01.
BMW officially announces AI partnership with Ali
New system unveiled at Shanghai Motor Show
On March 25, the BMW Group announced the launch of its 360-degree full chain AI strategy in China. This cooperation with Ali can be seen as a concrete measure to materialize its China AI strategy.
From the cooperation agreement between the two parties, the Ali Tongyi Big Model will be integrated into the smart cockpit of BMW's new generation models to create the new BMW Intelligent Personal Assistant.
The assistant is equipped with core capabilities such as anthropomorphic communication, multi-intelligence body synergy, and open ecological integration, and can realize continuous command interaction, fuzzy semantic understanding, and complex scene deduction.
For example, users can simultaneously complete navigation settings, air conditioning adjustment and entertainment system operation through natural language commands, with a system recognition and wake-up rate of 99%.
In addition, BMW also plans to launch the “Car Genius” and “Travel Companion” AI intelligent bodies based on the Tongyi model and Zebra Genius AI to further refine the service scenarios. The relevant functions will be debuted in April 2025 at the Shanghai Auto Show.
Since 2015, BMW and Ali have expanded from cloud computing and intelligent network connection to the field of AI big model, and this cooperation even relies on Ali Zebra Yuanxin AI technology, combined with the high-frequency needs of Chinese users to customize solutions.
This cooperation will enhance the BMW car system's ability to optimize semantic parsing of complex commands in the Chinese context, and synchronize the integration of localized ecological applications such as Alipay and AutoNavi.
In this regard, Gao Xiang, President of BMW Greater China, emphasized that the speed of innovation in the Chinese market and the specificity of user needs are the key to driving the cooperation.
It is easy to see from this cooperation that the new generation models are not only the carrier of AI technology, but also the core of BMW's electrification transformation. This series of models is based on a new electronic and electrical architecture, with an integrated arithmetic power that is 20 times higher than that of the current model, and supports multifunctional synergies such as autonomous driving and intelligent cockpits.
In addition to the cooperation with Alibaba, BMW has also launched a deep cooperation with Huawei.2025 On March 17, BMW China and Huawei Terminal announced a cooperation to jointly develop an intelligent application ecosystem based on the Hongmeng system.
Through the deep integration of the Hongmeng ecosystem, BMW will bring users a smarter and more convenient all-scene intelligent traveling experience.
In addition, BMW has also recently reached a ten billion euro level (equivalent to more than 80 billion yuan level) battery cooperation with CATL,EVE Energy Co.,Ltd .
BMW will improve range and charging efficiency through the use of cylindrical cell technology, aiming to achieve more than 50 percent of global sales of pure electric models by 2030.
02.
Overseas car companies actively layout
Audi takes the lead in embracing Huawei Smart Driving
In addition to BMW, the other two car companies in the BBA, Mercedes-Benz and Audi, are similarly embracing Chinese tech companies.
On March 23, 2025, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Mercedes-Benz Group, Mr. Konlinsson, said at the China Development High-Level Forum that there is a strategic necessity for cooperation with Chinese technology companies, which will be an important direction for Mercedes-Benz to further develop its business in China.Currently, Mercedes-Benz has two R&D centers in China, Beijing and Shanghai, focusing on the development of high-level intelligent driving systems and intelligent cockpits.
Currently, the new-generation Mercedes-Benz E-Class has adopted Qualcomm's 8295 cockpit chip and the L2+ level navigation assistance system led by a Chinese team. Meanwhile, the pure-electric CLA model will cooperate with the top domestic Smart Driving suppliers to provide end-to-end high-level Smart Driving programs, becoming the first traditional luxury brand product that can provide city pilot assisted driving.
This comes after media reports that Mercedes-Benz plans to invest around $75 million (roughly Rs. 545 million) to further increase its commitment to Chinese self-driving startup Momenta.
By cooperating with Chinese technology companies, Mercedes-Benz not only enhances its own technological strength, but also can gain further improvement in localization capability.
Audi's approach is even more direct, directly cooperate with Huawei. in early 2025, Audi announced that all models will be equipped with Huawei's Smart Driving System, including the PPC fuel platform and PPE pure electric platform.
Up to now, SAIC Audi A5L has confirmed that it will be equipped with Huawei Qian Kun ADS 3.0, which will be officially released at this year's Shanghai Auto Show.
03.
Conclusion: Overseas car companies shift their market playing style
Thirty-seven years ago, FAW and Audi signed an agreement to formally establish FAW Audi, starting the early stage of the multinational automobile company's entry into China to “exchange market for technology”.
Today, as China's local automotive industry matures, the model of cooperation between overseas car companies and Chinese companies has shifted to a two-way empowerment.
BMW and Ali signed the cooperation, for example, the two sides not only share technical resources, but also through the joint laboratory to explore cutting-edge scenarios, and further results of the reverse output to the global market.
It is easy to see that this “Chinese innovation, global empowerment” path is reshaping the value chain of the global automotive industry division of labor.
