Cerence and PATEO Provide Voice Assistant for New Hongqi Luxury Vehicle

Cerence and PATEO are once again teaming up to deliver a voice assistant for a car manufacturer in Asia. The two companies have previously provided voice services for SAIC-GM-Wuling Automobile in Indonesia, and for the Aeolus AX7 from Dongfeng Motors in China.

Their latest customer is China’s Hongqi Auto, which is the luxury vehicle division of the broader FAW Group. Hongqi is planning to install Cerence and PATEO’s technology in the new E-HS9, in an effort to increase the appeal of the car for international audiences as the company looks to expand beyond the Chinese market. To that end, the voice assistant will be able to recognize commands in the English and Norwegian languages.

The joint solution will combine Cerence’s conversational voice technology with the PATEO Connect+ infotainment system. Drivers will be able to use simple voice commands to control various aspects of the in-car experience, and the hybrid platform will have both cloud and edge processing capabilities to ensure consistent service in areas with poor internet connectivity.

“Hongqi drivers expect the in-car assistant to be on par with the rest of the driving experience,” said Cerence CEO Stefan Ortmanns. “We are proud to continue our fruitful partnership with PATEO to bring innovative, intelligent automotive technologies to this leading automaker as they bring their high-end lineup to new global markets.”

“PATEO and Cerence continue to deliver industry-leading technologies to automakers looking to bring the best in-car experience to their customers,” added PATEO Founder and Chairman Ken Ying. “In bringing Cerence assistant technologies into the well-designed PATEO headunit, we deliver a game-changing user experience to Hongqi drivers worldwide.”

Hongqi is not the only Chinese automaker currently eyeing the Norwegian market. On that front, Cerence announced that it would be providing voice tech for NIO’s ES8 full-size SUV at the beginning of the year. The company has since gone on to add the Cerence Sing karaoke service to its in-car entertainment portfolio.