South Korea’s Kia Motors Corp. in partnership with Chinese tech giant Tencent has revealed a voice-activated car infotainment system tailored for Chinese-speaking drivers and passengers.

Korea’s second-largest automaker unveiled the new infotainment system jointly developed with Tencent QQ Music at the CES Asia 2018, Asia’s largest electronics tradeshow, in Shanghai on Wednesday.

The built-in digital dashboard enables voice commands to activate Tencent’s QQ Music streaming service.

For instance, if the driver complains of drowsiness, the system will search and play upbeat dance music. In-vehicle functions, such as operating the windows and sunroofs, would also be available on voice command.

Kia Motors will mount the voice-enabling connected system in its models arriving at China next year and gradually expand it to global models. It also intends to work closely with Tencent to create more infotainment contents.

Last year, the Korean automaker teamed up with Baidu, China’s dominant search engine operator, to develop Duer OS Auto, a conversational artificial intelligence platform, and Baidu MapAuto, a communication navigation system, for application in commercial cars.

By Kim Jung-hwan and Kim Hyo-jin

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