10 September 2015, Hangzhou, China. Geely Auto will work with Apple Inc to bring Apple’s widely adopted CarPlay operating system into Geely vehicles; making Geely one of the first Chinese vehicle manufacturers to use the technology.
The partnership between Geely and Apple will move further enhance the driving experience within Geely vehicles by bringing all of Apple’s leading services directly into the center of all future Geely vehicle consoles in a format that will be familiar to all iPad and iPhone users.
The introduction of Apple’s CarPlay system will allow Geely drivers and passengers to interact directly with Apple’s Siri, the intelligent personal assistant, to find places of interest in their locality or destination and also allow access to favorite Apple apps.
Geely Auto’s first vehicle to use Apple’s CarPlay system will be a new SUV that will be unveiled at the end of 2015 and be made available across China in early 2016. The Carplay technologies will be further introduced into other future vehicles as they are introduced into the market.
Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Chairman and founder of Geely Auto, Mr. Li Shufu has long been a strong proponent of intelligent vehicles and has pushed for further integration of internet technologies into automobiles: “From today onwards, Geely Auto will move to further integrate internet and autonomous driving technologies as a means to bring our safety technologies to a world leading level.”
In previous Geely Auto vehicles such as the best selling New Emgrand sedan Geely has long offered WiFi hotspots as part of the options package and also Mirrorlink connectivity allowing passengers to share their phone screen onto the vehicles central console. With the introduction of Apple CarPlay into the Geely Auto range, Geely and Apple will be able to offer an even greater range of connectivity and services.
Geely’s commitment to providing the latest technologies for consumers is having a strong effect on sales; in the first half of 2015 sales rose 35% at Geely Auto with the company reaching 56% of its 2015 sales goal of 450,000 units.