vivo and BYD Upgrade Partnership, Nearly 5 Million Vehicles Connected to Phone-Car Integration

vivo and BYD (01211.HK) signed a strategic cooperation agreement in Shenzhen on November 5, upgrading their partnership from "phone-car connectivity" to "phone-car integration," with collaboration to focus on product experience innovation, AI cross-device integration, and overseas market expansion.

The two companies' collaboration began in 2019, initially focusing on two areas: phone-car connectivity and smart access.

To date, these features have served nearly 5 million vehicles and are expected to cover select models across all BYD brands by the end of 2026.

For BYD, deep ties with a phone maker help fill software and ecosystem gaps in its smart cockpits; for vivo, the automotive scenario is an important outlet for its on-device AI capabilities.

Whether the two sides can convert their nearly 5 million existing users into ecosystem stickiness will determine the real value of this upgrade.