The tie-up is intended to leverage Airbiquity’s Choreo connected vehicle service delivery platform and China Unicom’s telecom infrastructure and service provider capabilities to provide telematics services for the Chinese automotive market, both line-fit and aftermarket.

The deal will cover services including infotainment and smartphone integration, commercial vehicle fleet services, CRM and other traditional telematics services.

‘Airbiquity is delighted to partner with China Unicom of Shanghai to expand its connected vehicle services within China,’ said Kamyar Moinzadeh, president and CEO of Airbiquity. ‘With GSM and WCDMA business in 31 provinces and regions, as well as broadband and ICT infrastructure throughout the country, China Unicom is a leader in connectivity solutions. Bringing that industry-leading level of service into the car, across China, is an intelligent next step in a rapidly expanding market.’

Shipments of smartphones in China increased 61% year-on-year in Q3 2012, surging way ahead of the United States and confirming the nation’s position as the world's largest country by volume. This comes at a time of fast growth in automotive production and sales.

‘With vehicle sales in China alone expected to rise from 21 million units in 2013 to nearly 34 million in 2019, the opportunity for connected car solution suppliers is huge in this region,’ said Richard Robinson, director, automotive at Strategy Analytics. ‘Our research highlights that nearly half of the vehicles sold in China will have either embedded modems or tethered device telematics capability by 2019, in spite of the lower value “economy” segment accounting for over 30% of vehicle sales.’

Services are scheduled to launch later this year with two customers already under agreement.