China's Internet of Vehicles set for fast growth

BEIJING - Self-driving cars, semi-autonomous vehicles and smart cars turned the recently-concluded World Internet of Things Expo in eastern China's Wuxi city into a showcase for China's latest Internet of Vehicles (IoV) technology.

At the expo, Chinese auto brand Chery exhibited vehicles with smart services, such as systems to warn drivers of rear-ending and speeding risks, and autonomous parking.

Thanks to dynamic mobile communication systems that communicate between vehicles and public networks, IoV technology enables information sharing on vehicles, roads and their surroundings, effectively helping guide and supervise vehicles, and providing abundant multimedia and mobile Internet application services.

The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) released guidelines in June to help the the IoV industry develop.

"The IoV will be future of the automobile industry and might nurture a market worth anything from $200 billion to $9 trillion by 2025," said Huang Haiyan, CEO of Techcode.

The incubator has recently set up an industrial cluster and IoV research institute in Gu'an county in the city of Langfang in Hebei province, hoping to turning the region into an IoV industry hub.

Huang believes that the IoV industry offers China the chance to overtake veteran auto markets if it can build an integrated industrial ecosystem with coordinated efforts from the government, enterprises and investors.

IT companies such as Baidu and telecom companies such Huawei have also invested in the industry, building on their strengths to cash in on the growing market.

China has made major breakthroughs in the IoV, with initial progress made in constructing demonstration zones and industrial ecosystem development, according to Wang Weiming, a senior official with MIIT.

China will continue to work on developing industrial standards and the regulation framework for the IoV sector, and encourage international cooperation, Wang said.