TikTok’s Parent Company Is Bringing Its Tech to Chinese EVs originally appeared on Autoblog.
There is no doubt that TikTok is the screen time king
If one thing can be truly described as a guilty pleasure in today’s digital landscape, it would be TikTok. The infamous short-form video platform has become the dominant social media application, capturing the attention of millions around the world. As much as we may wish to resist the digital siren call, the app’s algorithm draws users in with an endless stream of ultra-personalized content that can have us hooked for hours.
Its effectiveness has spawned a wave of TikTok imitators from American tech companies such as Google’s YouTube Shorts or Meta’s Instagram Reels. However, TikTok is more than just a social media video app for influencers. Its parent company, ByteDance, is a technological powerhouse that also specializes in cloud and AI services. According to reports out of China, it could be launching a new initiative to get its cutting-edge tech into the next generation of tech-infused cars.
TikTok’s parent company may bring its tech to future cars
According to recent reports from CarNewsChina and IT-Home, the parent company of TikTok is engaged with Chinese automaker SAIC on a new venture called Doubao Auto. SAIC is one of the "Big Four" state-owned Chinese automakers, which produces cars under the IM, Maxus, MG (yes, that MG), Rising Auto, Roewe, Baojun, Wuling, Hongyan, and Sunwin brands, and under joint ventures with Volkswagen and General Motors.
ByteDance and SAIC, as part of Doubao Auto, are said to be working on intelligent automotive solutions (a Chinese tech world buzzword for autonomous driving features), focusing on “cockpit and intelligent driving” systems. Doubao Auto would use the Volcano Engine as its software backbone to make a software system similar to Huawei's HarmonyOS, an operating system designed to provide a personalized experience across devices like phones, tablets, smart TVs, and even Huawei-developed electric cars.
The Volcano Engine is already used by prominent Chinese electric vehicle firms, including the state-owned Changan Auto and GAC Aion, as well as the Geely-linked Lynk & Co. Bytedance is planning to invest in an innovative driving solutions company and has recently hired several former employees from the autonomous driving firm Momenta, according to sources cited by IT-Home.
This report follows an earlier report from April 2025, in which SAIC president Jia Jianxu said that it is working with Volcano Engine and other AI partners to create in-car software for tailored personalisation and develop a “comprehensive innovative ecosystem to meet individual user needs.” Yang Liwei, who runs Volcano Engine's automotive division and leads the Smart Mobility and Embodiment Research Institute, mentioned partnering with SAIC to create an AI cockpit product using ByteDance’s Doubao large model. He says this new product can act like a personalized in-car assistant that can figure out what users want before they even say it.
"It not only has multimodal perception capabilities, but is more like a personalized assistant that can understand human intentions,” Yang said in April. “It can predict user needs in advance and think what you want."
Final thoughts
CarNewsChina reported that on July 29, a spokesperson from ByteDance's Volcano Engine denied the rumors that Doubao Auto was a "direct intelligent driving" business, clarifying that while the Volcano engine provides algorithmic training platforms for its automotive clients, "it currently has no plans to enter the autonomous driving business." Besides the purported autonomous driving, ByteDance's AI partnership with SAIC is already a technological bag of futuristic marbles.
Mind you, Yang Liwei, the guy who runs Volcano Engine's automotive division, said back in April 2025 that the new product that they are working on with SAIC "is more like a personalized assistant that can understand human intentions" that "can predict user needs in advance and think what you want."
Knowing how scarily detailed the TikTok algorithm knows me, that's one heck of a hunk of technology that they might put behind those touch screens in future SAIC-brand cars.
TikTok’s Parent Company Is Bringing Its Tech to Chinese EVs first appeared on Autoblog on Jul 31, 2025
This story was originally reported by Autoblog on Jul 31, 2025, where it first appeared.
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