腾讯车联与中国天气网达成战略合作 推动精细化气象数据进车 – Tencent Tech
What happened: Tencent Auto Intelligence, the tech giant’s smart vehicle unit, has entered a strategic partnership with weather.com.cn, a website run by the state-backed China Meteorological Administration to provide location-based weather forecasts to drivers. By providing minute-by-minute and mile-by-mile weather forecasts, the partnership could help car owners to adjust travel plans and make the best travel decisions, according to the company. In addition, the two companies will collaborate on a series of maps that provide information such as flooded areas in cities and popular travel destinations, among others.
Why it’s important: The connected car trend is creating new opportunities for tech companies, data providers, and car manufacturers to provide informational and entertainment services for passengers, as well as assist with road safety. Tencent has been making inroads into the smart mobility domain with a matrix of business that covers all car–related areas from smart car solutions, autonomous driving, and a WeChat-based auto payment system for parking. The tech giant is also working on an in-vehicle version of its messaging app WeChat. Tencent is competing with a series of domestic rivals that are increasing their bets on the sector, such as Baidu and Alibaba.