Geely will be China's first car company to offer Apple CarPlay

The first Geely-badged vehicle to support Apple's hands-free, distraction-free alternative to normal in-car infotainment will launch in 2016.

During its huge media event on Wednesday, Apple went out of its way to highlight how successful the iPhone is proving in the Chinese market.

Therefore it was only a matter of time before one of the country's private automakers pledged to support CarPlay.

However, as Volvo's parent company, Geely is already well ahead of the adoption curve when it comes to integrating the feature.

Volvo, along with Ferrari and Mercedes was one of the initial three companies to pledge support for CarPlay and a Volvo XC90, unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show in 2014 was the first to offer attendees a hands-on demonstration of its capabilities.