What is "Internet car"?

Reporter Yu Ling Lin Shanghai reported

In the gas station plus better oil, you do not need to pay cash or brush fuel card, just touch the car screen, you can pay directly on the Alipay; you can also complete the payment Alipay, and then open to the designated gas station refueling . This is only one of the small features owned by the "Internet car" jointly built by SAIC and Alibaba Group.

"What exactly is the 'Internet car' and we still have to study it, but certainly more broadly than the current car networking." A top SAIC disclosed to the 21st-century economy.

SAIC and Alibaba Group have signed the "Internet car" strategic cooperation agreement in Shanghai on the afternoon of July 23. Although, because of Alibaba's quiet period of listing in the United States, many details have not been announced. However, in the 21st century economic report, it was learned that both parties set an investment quota of "open budget with no ceiling" on this cooperation project.

"The future of the car must be combined with the Internet, the realization of unmanned and smart cars, have to go through the Internet." Informed sources, this is also an important reason for both parties willing to invest on a large scale.

In fact, the future car market, auto bosses and the Internet giants have started to take action. For instance, after Baidu released CARNET, a civilian-owned car networking product, it also joined international automobile manufacturers such as Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Volvo and Toyota to carry out In-depth cooperation in the field of car networking, access to Baidu LBS car networking API. Tencent also introduced the car networking products "Road Po" box.

Need to solve two major problems

Different from the current networked car networking products on the market, SAIC and Ali "Internet" car to achieve is the car carrying the system and Ali "YunOS" operating system to achieve docking, to ensure safety under the premise of the car into the Internet.

Such as the current "car networking" is mainly the software directly to the car, but the car's own systems such as electronic control systems, anti-lock system can not interact with the outside world, while the Internet car will solve these problems.

However, while the internal system of the car interacts with the outside world, there are potential safety issues. If a hacker enters the car through this interactive channel, it is a safety problem directly endangering the insiders.

"This is also a major challenge we will face," the SAIC executives said in the 21st Century Business Herald. How to solve this problem, SAIC and Ali will play their own advantages.

The two parties agreed that the hardware is to be researched and developed by SAIC, and the software is researched and developed by Alibaba. Both parties bear the cost of research and development and share intellectual property rights.

SAIC from 2009 into the car network, set off a car networking boom, almost all domestic and foreign car companies have launched a vehicle equipped with car networking. And with the alliance with Alibaba Group, but also for the industry to bring the "Internet car" this new concept.

According to the plan, SAIC's brand Roewe 550 will take the lead in integrating resources such as Aliyun YunOS operating system, Big Data, Aliyun Communication, Goode Navigation, Aliyun Computing, Shimizu Music and SAIC Group's vehicle and parts development, auto service Trade and other resources, open integration of the Internet and big data, around the user's car life, integration of both online and offline resources, to expand the service life of the owners.

However, just as it was the case of car-connected cars that were rock-nosed five years ago, the cooperation between SAIC and Ali started from the beginning of the year and was still signed on the 23rd. Both sides are still exploring the clear definition of "Internet car." With the changes in technology and consumer demand, the future of what kind of Internet car, is still unable to draw conclusions, and SAIC and Ali have formed a combined research and development team of more than 200 people in the R & D.

Giants ambitions and games

On the surface, the Internet car is competing for the central control screen in the car, which is the "fourth screen" in addition to mobile phone screen, computer screen, TV screen. But even further, Internet companies hope to find "ambitions" to enter and even control the automotive industry through their alliances with car makers.

Although the current auto companies and Internet companies are very common, but in fact, the auto industry and Internet companies have a natural contradiction. Car companies are pursuing the exclusive product and technology, on the contrary, the Internet companies are pursuing an open, the more open to attract more people to use, will be cheaper.

Such as SAIC and Ali's cooperation from SAIC point of view, certainly hope that technology monopoly, it is likely to want to sign an exclusive contract with Ali, however, from Ali's point of view, only more car companies to use his software development, Ali In order to compete in a favorable situation.

In fact, SAIC's first car networking supplier is Shanghai Botai Yue Zhen Electronic Equipment Manufacturing Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Botai"), in cooperation with Ali, SAIC is also one of the purposes to obtain more exclusive technology , Because in the SAIC for the development of car networking technology, Botai has become a lot of mainstream car prices car networking technology developers.

However, with Ali, SAIC will inevitably face such a contradiction. How to solve this problem, and now no one can say it clearly.

In the view of Internet companies, they see the opportunity is that consumers are no longer the vehicle requirements of a simple means of transport, but want to get the overall travel solutions. After the Internet technology is mature, cars are easy to drive without driver, and once unmanned, people do not pay too much attention to the brand.

"An industry will gradually shift from the pursuit of individuality, the gradual transition to standardization .30 years ago, PC brand less than 500, now is nothing more than the competition between several major brands.PC Although there are different brands, but the use of the basic is the standardization of consistency The same is true of mobile phones, while in the future, automobiles will also form a standardized industrial chain. "Botec CEO Ying Yi Lun believes.

All the information about the Tesla cars in the United States can be displayed on the 17-inch center-controlled touch screen, and most of the control can be done at the fingertips. Tesla's success, but also let the Internet car began to wander into the automotive industry. Apple introduced the CarPlay in-car operating system as early as 2013, mapping the iOS device's interface to the central control screen. As of now, it has won the support of Honda, Hyundai, Mercedes-Benz, Audi and other auto giants.

On the other hand, Google this year announced the establishment of the Open Car Alliance, the first partners including General Motors, Honda, Audi, Hyundai and many other car makers. At the Google Developers Conference at the end of June 2014, Google Android Auto Auto officially released the logo Google officially entered the automotive technology.

Among domestic technology companies, Baidu released CarNet in April this year, which maps the handset system to the car screen through a free application. Tencent introduced the "Treasure Box" smart hardware, specializing in automotive diagnostic systems.