Chinese EV maker Nio launches world-first smartphone designed as an intelligent vehicle companion
- The phone has more than 30 car-specific features, such as initiating self-parking mode and unlocking the car with a button press, firm says
- Company believes a technology-heavy owner experience will give it an edge in a sizzling but crowded market
The world’s first production smartphone designed specifically for use with a car, the device offers more than 30 car-specific features, such as initiating self-parking mode, unlocking the car with a button press even if the smartphone is powered off, and transitioning a video call from the phone to the car’s screen and speakers, the company said.
The fully functional Android-based phone is priced from 6,499 yuan (US$890) to 7,499 yuan and is compatible with all eight of Nio’s vehicle models. It is made by Hunan-based Lens Technology, a supplier of smartphone lenses that boasts Apple as a customer.
“The Nio phone’s connectivity with smart EVs will make the vehicles safer, more entertaining and helpful in play and work,” said Cao Hua, a partner at Shanghai-based private equity firm Unity Asset Management, which invests in vehicle supply-chain firms. “The birth of the Nio smartphone will open a floodgate for more car-specific phones amid increasing use of digital technologies in the automotive industry.”
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Increasingly, an EV’s appeal in China is defined by how smart it is, not how far it can go or how cheap it is, as range increases and falling prices, due to lower production costs and competition, have gradually overcome those basic consumer concerns.
“Young people in China no longer treat EVs as just vehicles, they want them to [function like] smartphones,” said Cao, whose funds also count AI and vehicle robots among their investments.