Chinese automaker Chery Automobile and the speech intelligence company iFLYTEK agreed to comprehensively cement their strategic partnership on May 24, intending to jointly develop intelligence products and promote the corporate digital transition.

Under the agreement, the two parties will step up their collaboration on automotive intelligent cockpit, smart sound effect, sales service, multilingual voice assistant, intelligent driving, industrial intelligence, and corporate digitalization, and be deeply involved in each other's future strategic planning.

The cooperation between Chery and iFLYTEK can date back to 2003. In 2017, the two parties formally formed a strategic partnership. They have to-date introduced intelligent products to over 22 mass-produced models, amounting to over 600,000 vehicles armed with intelligent voice assistant and more than 140,000 vehicles installed with smart in-car system.

According to the newly-signed framework agreement, both companies will deepen their cooperation on smart cockpit and IoV (Internet of Vehicles) solutions, and team up on the businesses like AI-enabled sales service and intelligent customer service center.

Under eligible conditions, Chery and iFLYTEK will attempt to co-develop an autonomous driving car that can perform Level 4 self-driving functions in specific scenarios. Additionally, to facilitate Chery's export business, both parties will co-work on smart interactive speech products available for multiple languages including English, Russian, Arabic, and Portuguese.

In terms of corporate digital transition, the two companies will co-build a digital innovation center and jointly develop intelligent systems for finance, marketing, industrial park, and other businesses.