Lately, Geely has been hard at work in diversifying its business ventures. In his latest enterprise, Zhejiang Geely Holding’s founder Eric Li (aka Li Shifu) chose to dabble in smartphones by opening a new company called Hubei Xingji Shidai Technology Co. Ltd.
Geely owns Volvo and Polestar, apart from 50 percent of Lotus [Photo source: MNXANL]
According to Geely, this new entity will be based somewhere in Wuhan, where it will be developing smartphones and other smart devices. However, these aren’t your standard run-of-the-mill gadgets as it was reported that the said company will be targeting the premium phone global market segment.
With regards to this business move, Eric Li said that: “There is a close connection in technologies within intelligent vehicle cockpits and smartphone technologies. The major trend in the coming future is to create user ecosystems across borders and provide users with a more convenient, smarter and seamlessly connected multi-screen experience."
In connection to that statement, we can surmise that the devices this new company will be making will be designed to work well with Geely vehicles. This might also include upcoming high-tech electric-powered models with autonomous driving tech and the like.
Geely's autonomous driving tech has been highlighted on cars like the Preface concept
Interestingly enough, most models sold by the marque, including those by Geely Philippines right now, do not have Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. In essence, we can say that instead of striking a deal with existing tech giants for the aforementioned connectivity options, Xingji Shidai might instead provide those for Geely in the near future.
Furthermore, many of you will also notice that is the opposite of the recent trend wherein tech giants traditionally known for smart devices have begun dipping their hands into the automotive industry. These include Apple and Huawei, among other firms.
With all of these said, would you buy a future Geely smartphone? Beyond that, are you hoping that these smart devices can indeed improve the user experience for Geely car owners?
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