Xpeng Motors Partners with Alibaba on In-Car Mini App

On Sep 27, during the Aspara Conference, the electric vehicle startup Xpeng Motors launched its partnership with Alibaba to implement the Alibaba In-Car Mini App into the Xpeng P7, opening the door to an in-car service ecosystem tailored for smart vehicles. The project aims to develop an Alibaba In-Car system that is adaptable to XPeng Motors products.

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“The next step for all the big tech firms should include building intelligent systems for smart cars. We could imagine, in this era of 5G, the usage of smart systems in cars are more diverse than in smartphones. Now we have the platform, we could develop various new functions according to the drivers’ demands. In this sense, XPeng is indeed the first company in this industry,” said Rocky Liu, General Manager of Internet Technology at Xpeng Motors.

On the same day, Xpeng Motors announced that the Xpeng P7, the intelligent electric coupe set to be launched in the spring of 2020, will be the first to implement digital car key technology compliant with Internet Finance Authentication Alliance (IFAA) standards. The P7 will also be the first to implement Alibaba’s In-Car Mini App platform, leading the entry of the Alibaba-powered platform into the automotive space.

Xpeng Motors first to implement Alibaba In-Car Mini App technology for drivers

As presented at the event, the In-Car Mini App will initially focus on driver-centric functions related to location, navigation, traffic status, travel assistant or driver condition monitoring and will gradually expand to a host of other mobility, lifestyle and infotainment functions.

It integrates AI-powered vision and voice interaction combined with user behavior-monitoring technology to select and promote services that fit each driver’s preferences. It will be open to third-party developers to launch more value-added services tailored for driver’s needs and the in-car environment.

“We are very proud to have partnered with Alibaba to tailor the In-Car Mini APP with real-time vehicle-to-app interaction needed by smart cars. Alibaba provides the highest level of security and trust to complement the cutting-edge technology in our upcoming P7 coupe. We are very excited about the immense promise and the variety of choices it brings to our customers,” said Rocky Liu.

China’s Internet Finance Authentication Alliance (IFAA) releases new virtual car key standards

China’s IFAA, the 200-member technology industry alliance responsible for setting and implementing Internet authentication security standards, today released the new set of standards and technical specifications for digital vehicle keys.

Established in 2015 by a group of technology leaders including Ant Financial, Huawei, Samsung and ZTE, the IFAA is an alliance that focuses on implementing and fostering Internet authentication security standards. It currently has over 200 corporate members from more than 10 countries, including device and chip manufacturers, security solution and machining learning providers, and government monitoring institutions.

Xpeng Motors, nominated as Co-Chair of IFAA’s Technical Standard Focus Group in July, has worked with Ant Financial and two other member companies to draft the new standards which set the framework, procedures and benchmarks for implementing and updating digital car key security measures that are critical for smart connected vehicles. For instance, digital solutions for unlocking vehicles, adding oil, as well as many other smart operations would be possible in the future.

“The new standards bring the most advanced authentication technology – until now mostly used in the finance industry – on board connected vehicles. This is the first time that biometrics-based technologies such as facial recognition and fingerprints are implemented in digital keys for smart vehicles,” said Mr. Ji Yu, Vice President at Xpeng Motors at Alibaba’s 2019 Hangzhou Apsara Conference.