(Yicai) April 26 -- Tencent Holdings revealed a new smart mobility solution based on its large language model at China's largest auto show in Beijing. The owner of WeChat said it will keep focusing on automotive software instead of car manufacturing like Xiaomi.

Xiaomi is not considered a rival because Tencent helps companies build better infrastructure based on digitalization rather than producing vehicles by itself, The Paper reported yesterday, citing Zhong Xuedan, head of the Shenzhen-based firm's mobility business, talking during the 2024 Beijing International Automotive Exhibition. The phonemaker released its first car model SU7 last month, turning up the heat on rivals Tesla and BYD.

Tencent will absolutely not make vehicles, Zhong reiterated, adding that the firm still welcomes other industry newcomers to do so.

Tencent Cloud's new mobility solution, based on Tencent's Hunyuan LLM, is expected to help carmakers in research and development, manufacturing, and customer service. The company has partnered with more than 10 auto groups such as Changan Automobile, GAC Group, FAW Toyota Motor, and Dongfeng Motor-backed Voyah on the use of the LLM, Zhong added.

The social media and gaming giant is also helping domestic brands go global. Tencent Cloud assisted GAC Aion New Energy Automobile, which makes Hyper and Aion-branded electric cars, in deploying digital infrastructure to mass-produce connected cars in Thailand in three months, said Shen Pei, general manager of strategy at Tencent Intelligent Mobility.

The company has also released a smart cockpit solution targeting overseas markets. The product looks like a browser and can help Chinese automakers build a localized cockpit ecosystem quickly and cost-effectively.

Tencent has provided over 100 carmakers and mobility companies with cloud services, and more than 30 of them use the products abroad, according to public data. By the end of this year, more than 15 million vehicles should feature Tencent's smart solutions.

Editor: Emmi Laine