SHENZHEN, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- Chinese carmaker BYD rolled out an open platform for developing applications for smart cars on Wednesday at a developer conference held in Shenzhen city, south China.

Smart cars are often equipped with advanced technologies such as self-driving, self-parking, web and email access, voice control and various embedded sensors.

The platform, named D++, will offer an open application programming interface, as well as vehicle data and control permissions for developers. It is expected that developers will be able to access 66 control permissions and parameter of 341 sensors in the cars, according to the company.

Wang Chuanfu, chairman of BYD, said the development of smart cars is transitioning from closed systems to open platforms.

BYD is the world's largest electric vehicle manufacturer. The company was listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in 2002 and the Shenzhen Stock Exchange in 2011.

China is the world's biggest automobile market, selling around 29 million vehicles in 2017. It has also remained the world's largest new energy vehicle (NEV) market for three consecutive years, with some 777,000 NEVs sold last year.