How Oppo Planned to Move Beyond Smartphones With BYD Cars and AI

As of October 23, 2024, Oppo was trying to make the smartphone more than a standalone product. Its diversification strategy focused on two connected growth areas: smart vehicles and generative AI. The most tangible example was a strategic partnership with BYD to link Oppo Android phones with BYD vehicles.

Oppo’s main diversification moves

1. Linking Oppo phones with BYD vehicles

Oppo and BYD announced a strategic technology partnership to improve interoperability between smartphones and intelligent vehicles. The companies said they would develop technologies allowing Oppo Android phones to unlock and control BYD electric vehicles.

The first collaboration involved Oppo’s Find X8 series and BYD’s Denza, also known as Tengshi, Z9 GT intelligent sedan. The phone-car connectivity system was planned for deployment through an over-the-air update, bringing selected vehicle functions into the smartphone experience.

This was more than a conventional accessory partnership. It positioned the Oppo phone as an interface for vehicle access and control, extending the handset into a daily-use role outside communications, photography and apps.

2. Expanding generative AI across its user base

Oppo was also reported to be acquiring AI start-up AIWaves. Public details about the transaction were limited, so the move is best described as a reported acquisition process rather than a fully documented completed deal.

At the same time, Oppo planned to bring generative-AI features to 50 million smartphone users by the end of 2024. That target suggested the company viewed AI primarily as a way to strengthen its existing device ecosystem: adding services and capabilities that could make Oppo phones more useful over time, rather than relying only on hardware upgrades.

A broader ecosystem race

Oppo’s moves fit a wider push among Chinese technology companies to connect phones with more categories of hardware. Huawei’s “1+8+N” strategy, for example, placed the smartphone at the center of an ecosystem that included large screens, tablets, PCs, wearables, car units and other internet-connected devices.

The comparison matters because it shows the strategic goal behind Oppo’s BYD agreement. Phone-car interoperability was not simply an isolated feature; it was an attempt to make the handset a gateway to a wider set of services and devices. Huawei was pursuing a broader connected-device and automotive direction, while Oppo was taking an especially visible first step through a vehicle partnership and AI expansion.

Smartphones still powered Oppo’s scale

Despite the diversification effort, smartphones remained Oppo’s core business. IDC’s preliminary Q3 2024 assessment put global smartphone shipments at 316.1 million units, up 4% year over year. Oppo ranked fourth, behind Samsung, Apple and Xiaomi, with 28.8 million shipments and a 9.1% market share.

That position helps explain the strategy: Oppo could use its large installed smartphone base as the distribution layer for new AI features and connected-car services. The company was therefore not moving away from phones so much as trying to make ownership of an Oppo phone more valuable within a broader ecosystem.

What the strategy meant

By October 23, 2024, Oppo’s diversification plan had three distinct elements:

• A concrete automotive integration: the BYD partnership and Find X8–Denza Z9 GT connection.
• A reported AI acquisition: the planned purchase of AIWaves, with limited public detail.
• A large-scale software ambition: generative-AI features targeted at 50 million users by year-end.

The central idea was straightforward: keep the smartphone as Oppo’s scale business, but turn it into a control point for cars, AI services and other connected experiences.