China’s Ecarx in talks with VW to develop smart cars for Europe, US, CEO says

(This March 12 story has been corrected to say ’China’s Ecarx,’ not ’Geely-backed Ecarx,’ in the headline, and ’backed by Geely chairman Eric Li,’ not ’Geely-backed,’ in paragraph 2)

SHANGHAI (Reuters) – Volkswagen (ETR:VOWG_p) is in talks with digital cockpit system developer Ecarx to put the Chinese company’s technologies in cars it sells in developed markets, such as Europe and United States, Ecarx’s CEO said on Wednesday.

Volkswagen already has a partnership with the firm, which is backed by Geely chairman Eric Li, to manufacture smart cars in Brazil and India with Ecarx’s digital cockpit system Antora 1000, which features its proprietary chip and software and offers services such as voice recognition and navigation maps.

The two companies are now looking to extend the partnership to include VW’s Skoda-branded cars sold in Europe and also exploring the possibility of launching vehicles that are equipped with Ecarx technologies in the U.S., Ecarx CEO Shen Ziyu told Reuters.

VW did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

The plan underscores growing efforts by Western automakers to leverage Chinese prowess in smart driving technologies to hold on to their global market share after sales declined sharply in China in recent years.

Nearly all legacy auto brands now have to contend with Chinese electric vehicle makers, which have upended the auto industry with sleek software-rich cars.

German luxury carmaker Mercedes-Benz (OTC:MBGAF) plans to develop smart driving cars for global markets equipped with Chinese firm Hesai’s lidar sensors, Reuters reported on Tuesday, the first time a foreign automaker has sought to use such Chinese-made technology for models sold outside China.