(Yicai) April 21 -- German carmaker BMW Group is deepening its partnership with Chinese tech giant ByteDance, the company behind TikTok, to develop the use of artificial intelligence in marketing and services.

The collaboration will be led by BMW’s digital solutions unit Lingyue Digital Information Technology, which announced the plan on April 18.

Lingyue Digital will work with ByteDance's cloud services platform, Volcano Engine, to use AI in marketing and customer services, providing efficient product matching and purchase recommendations, according to a report by Shanghai Securities News.

The tie-up aims to enhance the car-buying experience for users and improve operational efficiency for dealers, the report added.

We are accelerating the integration of AI technology into our business areas -- from research and development, production, and supply chain to products and services, as well as operations,” said Gao Xiang, president and chief executive of BMW China.

“This renewed collaboration with ByteDance is a significant implementation of our AI strategy in the field of marketing services, driving innovation in marketing models and optimizing the digital customer journey,” Gao added. “At the same time, it empowers our dealer partners to enhance operational efficiency." 

Tan Dai, president of Volcano Engine, said the partnership will allow for intelligent recommendations, and enterprise digitalization. “We will collaborate with BMW to explore scenario-based innovations in high-value industrial chains, helping it maintain its leadership in the Chinese market," Tan said.

Founded in 2019, Lingyue Digital is a wholly owned subsidiary of BMW Brilliance Automotive, the automaker’s Chinese joint venture with Shenyang-based Brilliance Auto Group. BMW is the majority owner of the JV with a 75 percent stake, and Lingyue Digital is the first dedicated digital business it has set up, globally.

Since the start of this year, BMW has been stepping up the pace of collaboration with Chinese tech companies. In March, it announced a tie-up with Huawei Device to jointly develop a smart app ecosystem based on the Chinese firm’s HarmonyOS operating system. Later that month, it also partnered with Alibaba Group Holding to develop a customized AI engine for BMW.

On March 25, BMW announced the launch of its 360-degree full-chain AI strategy in China, aiming to use AI to optimize production, research and development, user experience, and supply chain management.

Editor: Tom Litting