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TenCent Ford WeChat

Ford chases Tencent for in-car WeChat integration for Chinese drivers

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By John McCarthy, Opinion Editor

February 17, 2015 | 2 min read

Ford wants to partner with Chinese investment company Tencent in a bid to integrate China’s most popular messaging app WeChat with its vehicles.

David Huang, a senior engineer running Ford's Asia Pacific connected services unit, told Reuters that the auto firm is in talks with Tencent to have the WeChat app tailored for its motors in a bid to offer drivers access to the app’s voice activated free messaging service.

Huang said: “There's a demand from our customers, people want to stay connected, stay informed and stay entertained all the time, even when they're driving.”

WeChat currently boasts 500 million active monthly users, failing just shy of Whatsapp's 700 million, however, the app holds a dominant share of Chinese comms.

The move to include the app with the car could help attract Chinese gearheads to Ford’s range. In the US and UK, Ford’s SYNC AppLink service, which provides smartphone/dashboard connectivity, is hooked up to apps such as Spotify, Hotels.com, TomTom and Domino’s.

TenCent Ford WeChat

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