China’s Nio Inc on Thursday unveiled a high-end smartphone designed to be used with its electric vehicles, touting a plethora of related functions such as using the phone to instruct the car to park itself.
The launch of the Nio Phone – the first car-specific phone to be sold by a Chinese firm, highlights the advanced state of EV technologies in the world’s biggest auto market, where electric cars now account for more than a third of vehicle sales.
A Nio driver can also use the phone to notify their car to drive itself to their location (allowed in China in restricted spaces and at low speeds) and to unlock the car even when the phone is switched off.
Chief Executive William Li said the Nio Phone had more than 30 car-specific functions and had broken new ground with connection technologies.
