Tencent and Honda collaborate on in-car IT development

China's Internet service giant Tencent and Honda have announced a partnership to develop in-vehicle IT (information technology) systems.

The company aims to build a system that allows people to safely and smoothly use online payments and voice entertainment while driving a car in China. Tencent has an aim to broaden its business domain as the growth of smartphone and internet users slows down.

On the 18th, Tencent and Honda's Chinese subsidiary announced that they would collaborate to install Tencent's automotive IT system "TAI" in Honda vehicles, a system that applies Tencent's know-how cultivated through its smart phone dialogue application "Weichat" and others.
For example, while driving, it is envisioned that users can order a coffee from a café on the road by voice control, or pay online and pick it up at the store. It will also be able to include entertainment features such as Tencent's copyrighted music and internet radio, as well as the ability to read out newspapers and books.

Tencent is trying to expand its business domain from IT for PCs and smartphones, where it has been strong in the past. The number of users of the company's flagship app, Weechat, reached 1.2 billion in the January-March 2020 period. However, the year-over-year increase was only 8%, a marked slowdown from the 30-40% increase in around 2003. The company hopes to maintain a high growth rate through the development of new areas such as automobiles.