Forgot to switch off the bedroom lights? You could do so while driving in China, with SAIC Volkswagen, JD.com tie-up

Imagine rolling up to your home to be greeted with warm lights, air cooled to just the right temperature and water heated and ready for your shower.

SAIC Volkswagen’s Passat cars and other models produced this year will come with JD.com’s smart home services built in, the companies said in a statement. When linked to users’ home appliances, the system will allow them to control their home appliances while inside the cars through voice commands or the vehicles’ touch screens.

Users can also set the system to switch home appliances on or off automatically when their cars are within a certain range of their homes. For example, by saying the words “turn on ‘going home’ mode”, the system can be triggered to turn on the lights, air conditioner and water heater once the car is within a certain distance from home. Drivers will also be able to view the quality of the air and security of their home from the screens in their cars, the companies said.

Smart vehicles and smart homes are part of the so-called internet of things (IoT), or devices that are connected to the internet and can communicate with each other.

While smart home devices have been popular for years, connected cars have also been gaining traction gradually, with the proliferation of faster internet speeds and the rising use of smart devices.