HONOR & BYD Partnership, Imagine unlocking your car with your smartphone, charging it seamlessly, and having your phone and vehicle communicate like best friends. That future just got a massive boost. HONOR and BYD—two Chinese tech giants—have forged a strategic partnership to integrate AI-powered connectivity between smartphones and electric vehicles, creating what they call “human-centric intelligent mobility.”
This isn’t just another tech collaboration announcement. It’s a blueprint for how your phone and car will work together in the AI era.
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From Rivals to Partners: The Power Duo
BYD, founded in 1995, has emerged as one of the world’s largest manufacturers of electric vehicles, selling over 3 million new energy vehicles in 2024. They’re not just big—they’re the biggest EV player globally.
HONOR, which separated from Huawei in 2020, has established itself as an independent technology company focusing on smartphones and AI-powered devices. Think cutting-edge AI capabilities meeting everyday practicality.
Together, they’re creating something neither could achieve alone: a seamless ecosystem where your smartphone becomes your car’s brain.
The Journey So Far: Building Block by Block
This partnership didn’t start yesterday. It’s been evolving strategically:
| Year | Milestone | What It Means |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Smartphone NFC car keys launched | Unlock your BYD with your HONOR phone |
| 2024 | In-vehicle fast charging added | Charge your phone rapidly inside your car |
| 2025 | DENZA adopts HONOR Car Connect | Full smartphone-vehicle ecosystem integration |
| Future | Expansion across all BYD brands | Complete interoperability coming soon |
The companies first worked together in 2023 to introduce smartphone NFC car keys, allowing BYD owners to lock and unlock vehicles using HONOR smartphones. In 2024, they expanded the partnership to include in-vehicle fast charging.
Now, DENZA, a BYD brand, has become the first to adopt HONOR Car Connect technology, with plans to extend coverage across additional BYD brands.
The Three Pillars of Smart Mobility
The partnership will focus on three main areas: joint innovation in cross-device ecosystem integration and AI agent integration, establishing collaborative channel models to maximize platform interoperability, and coordinated marketing efforts around product launches.
Pillar 1: Core Technology Innovation
- Cross-device ecosystem that lets your phone and car share data seamlessly
- AI agent integration (think Siri or Google Assistant for your entire mobility experience)
- High-precision Bluetooth-based digital car keys
Pillar 2: Channel Ecosystem
- Maximizing interoperability between HONOR’s connected tech and BYD’s DiLink smart ecosystem
- Creating unified platforms where devices just “talk” to each other
Pillar 3: Joint Marketing & User Engagement
- Coordinated product launches showcasing integrated experiences
- User-focused campaigns highlighting real-world benefits
What This Means for Everyday Drivers
Forget fumbling for keys or worrying about phone battery. Here’s what HONOR-BYD integration delivers:
Convenience Features:
- Digital car keys on your phone (no physical key needed)
- Automatic phone charging in your vehicle
- Seamless service continuity between devices
- One-touch access to navigation, music, contacts
AI-Powered Experiences:
- Your car knows your preferences from your phone
- Context-aware suggestions (routes, charging stops, entertainment)
- Voice commands that work across both ecosystems
- Predictive features based on driving patterns
Safety Enhancements:
- Enhanced security through smartphone authentication
- Real-time vehicle monitoring via phone app
- Emergency features linked to your mobile device
James Li, CEO of HONOR, stated: “Our partnership with BYD is a comprehensive collaboration for the AI era, with smart mobility as the key strategic focus at this stage. Together, we will advance joint technology development, complement each other’s strengths, and co-create an ecosystem of seamless and intelligent mobility experiences that enrich every journey”.
The Global Context: Why This Matters
China remains the world’s largest EV market, accounting for approximately 60% of global electric vehicle sales in 2024. Integration of AI and connectivity features has become a key differentiator for automakers seeking to attract technology-focused consumers.
This partnership signals where the entire automotive industry is heading: cars as smart devices on wheels, not just transportation machines.
While Western automakers partner with Apple (CarPlay) and Google (Android Auto), Chinese manufacturers are building their own integrated ecosystems from the ground up—potentially leapfrogging traditional approaches.
What’s Next: October 23 Showcase
The companies plan to showcase their collaborative technologies at the 2025 HONOR Global Developers Conference and AI Device Ecosystem Conference, scheduled for October 23, where we’ll see these technologies in action.
Expect demonstrations of:
- Real-time phone-to-car integration
- AI-driven mobility scenarios
- Next-generation digital key technology
- Enhanced safety features
The Bigger Picture
This partnership represents more than technical integration—it’s a vision of mobility where boundaries between devices disappear. Your phone isn’t just connected to your car; it’s part of a unified intelligent system that anticipates needs, removes friction, and makes driving genuinely smarter.
For BYD, it means differentiation in a crowded EV market. For HONOR, it’s proof their AI ecosystem extends beyond smartphones. For consumers? It’s the promise of mobility that just works—intuitively, intelligently, effortlessly.
The collaboration comes as the global electric vehicle market continues to expand, with integration of AI and connectivity features becoming a key differentiator for automakers.
The question isn’t whether your phone and car will integrate this deeply. It’s how quickly other manufacturers can catch up to what HONOR and BYD are building together.
Welcome to the era where your smartphone doesn’t just control your car—it becomes one with it.
