Information technology built into new cars will be the spotlight at the Auto Shanghai 2015 show, which opens to the public today.

The IT companies are displaying their technological prowess in bilingual voice recognition for navigation, large-size LCD screens for driving, Hi-Fi quality music and systems for smart parking and driving during the auto show.

The companies include voice recognition service provider iFlytek and Internet video and smart TV firm Letv, and top tech giants like Alibaba and Apple. They are collaborating as innovation and technology partners with carmakers.

Shenzhen-listed iFlytek will showcase a smart voice system through its clients such as top Chinese carmakers like SAIC Motor and BAIC Motor. The system has features like in-car noise cancellation, voice recognition supporting dialects and cloud computing.

In BMW China’s recent technology bidding, iFlytek beat its rival Nuance with a better voice recognition accuracy rate in both Mandarin and English. The result may influence voice recognition technology adoption for the next-generation BMW cars sold in Asia.

Letv, already the No. 1 listed firm in China’s ChiNext growth-enterprise market, has cooperated with luxury car maker Aston Martin and BAIC Motor on in-car communications and entertainment.

At the BAIC booth, Letv demonstrated a concept car with fingerprint recognition key and two phone-size screens instead of rearview mirrors.

Tesla, the electric car superstar, will showcase smooth parking based on a system with sensors, cameras and high-speed network connection as well as a map and location service. In China, Tesla uses map and navigation services offered by AutoNavi, an Alibaba-invested firm.

Though not directly attending the auto show, Alibaba has expressed strong ambition in the sector. The world’s biggest e-commerce company has formed an auto unit tapping its strength in its cloud-computing, hardware and big data operations.

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