HONG KONG (Yonhap News) ― Chery Automobile Co., China’s seventh-largest automaker, said Wednesday it has jointly built a laboratory with South Korea’s leading mobile carrier SK Telecom Co., in a bid to boost their competitiveness in the vehicle networking technology.

A trend has been growing recently in the automobile industry toward developing in-vehicle data transmission and communications between vehicles and the outside world.

After three years of coordination, the two companies recently launched the Vehicle Networking Technology Laboratory to study the application of the Mobile In Vehicle telematics service to Chery automobiles, Chery Automobile officials said.

“We seek to develop smart vehicles that will enable mobile phone-controlled driving, using the top South Korean telecom operator’s technology,” said Chen Anning, vice general manager at Chery Automobile.

The MIV service is expected to enable drivers to use their mobile phones to check driving performance and control various vehicle components.

Chery has been working to expand its presence in the world’s electric vehicle market, in line with the Chinese government’s push to foster an eco-friendly automobile market.

The Chinese automaker sold 149,462 cars overseas in the Jan.-Nov. period this year, recording 79.7 percent growth from a year earlier.