WM Motor and Qualcomm today announced a partnership to support the adoption of Qualcomm-powered automotive digital cockpit and 5G experience in future models of the Chinese EV maker.

WM Motor will feature the third-generation Qualcomm Snapdragon Automotive Digital Cockpit platform and Qualcomm Snapdragon Automotive 5G platform in new production models from early 2021, Qualcomm said in its official WeChat account.

These technologies will combine WM Motor's strengths in intelligent systems and data fusion to support the new WMConnect Intelligent Digital Cockpit's intelligent innovations in semantic understanding and visual perception, in-vehicle full-scene services, and human-vehicle full-space interaction, the statement said.

In early 2019, Qualcomm unveiled its third-generation Snapdragon Automotive Digital Cockpit Family platform, which is built on technologies from the Snapdragon 820A platform and supports immersive graphics image multimedia, computer vision, and AI.

It features heterogeneous computing capabilities, integrated multi-core AI Engine, Spectra ISP, fourth-generation Kryo CPU, Hexagon processor, and sixth-generation Adreno vision subsystem.

The platform features a Secure Processing Unit (SPU) to protect personal and vehicle data, a range of advanced wireless technologies that support multi-mode cellular connectivity, Wi-Fi 6 and enhanced Bluetooth technology.

Separately, WM Motor announced today that the new models to be launched early next year will be equipped with AVP autonomous parking function in cooperation with Baidu, which can achieve L4 level unmanned driving in specific scenarios.

At the launch of WM Motor IdeaL4's new technology strategy, WM Motor Founder, Chairman, and CEO Shen Hui said, "The goal of our IdeaL4 technology strategy is to build the 'four pieces' of a new intelligent and better travel life. In the next three to five years, WM Motor will invest 20 billion RMB and bring together 3,000 engineers to create 'EC travel smart terminals' that are more in line with Chinese users' preferences.

Meanwhile, Hui Shen revealed that the new model, which will go on sale early next year, will be equipped with the AVP autonomous parking function in cooperation with Baidu, which will enable L4 level unmanned driving in specific scenarios. The new model will also be unveiled at the Baidu World Congress on September 15.

WM Motor's next step will be to gradually equip more models with L4-level autopilot technology, pushing forward the mass production of advanced autopilot front-loading so that L2+ level autopilot will gradually grow into L4 level.

Automated driving has been one of the areas where new car-making forces have been vigorously deployed.

In November 2019, Nio announced a strategic partnership with Mobileye, an Intel-owned autopilot technology company, in which both parties will build L4-level autopilot models based on Nio's second-generation vehicle platform.

Li Tianshu, head of Nio's second-generation platform, has said that Nio will launch Level 4 autopilot in 2022.