(Yicai Global) Jan. 3 -- China's e-commerce giant Alibaba Holdings Ltd. [NYSE:BABA] and Japanese auto heavyweight Honda Motor Co. [TYO:7267; NYSE:HMC] will team up to develop Internet of Vehicles services in the latest step of foreign firms tying up with China's internet behemoths to make inroads into China's huge automotive market.

Honda will work with Alibaba's web mapping and location services arm AutoNavi Holdings Ltd. [NASDAQ:AMAP] to develop a new service that allows drivers to book services through its platform and pay by Alipay, reported Japanese daily The Nikkei, formerly known as the Nihon Keizai Shimbun, yesterday.

Alipay is the most popular online payment platform in China with more than 500 million users. The cooperation program will also provide drivers with more convenient parking and refueling payment channels, the report said. The two companies will soon decide when to make the service available and which type of vehicles will be involved.

Honda and Amap began their cooperation in 2015 with the development of a multi-purpose navigation system based on Big Data technology. As both parties expand the scope of cooperation, Honda will also make use of Alibaba's resources to provide more car networking services.

China is already one of the largest automotive markets in the world. Honda has long been seeking to cooperate with Chinese enterprises. Last year, it reached an agreement with the Liaoning-based Neusoft Group Co. [SHA:600718] to develop a new series of electric vehicles.