China's Alibaba Group has launched an automotive unit and a "smart living" division in the past week, reports Reuters.

The world's biggest e-commerce company, like many Chinese technology companies, is looking to introduce Internet and computing capabilities to various kinds of everyday products, from home appliances to TVs to cars. This puts the Alibaba up against the likes of social networking and online entertainment giant Tencent Holdings, Chinese search engine leader Baidu, JD.com, and smartphone maker Xiaomi.

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The $214 billion online giant is hoping its big data analysis and cloud computing abilities will give it an edge over the competition.

The company's newly created automotive business division includes car marketing services built around Alibaba's big data analysis. And the car section of its online retail site Tmall's is providing loans to help people buy vehicles, an Alibaba spokeswoman told Reuters.

The company also said that nearly 50 car brands and 10,000 dealerships have partnered with Alibaba in China. Last month, Chinese auto maker SAIC Motor Corp. said it would team up with Alibaba to invest 1 billion yuan ($161.08 million) in a fund to develop Internet-connected cars.

Alibaba's new "smart living" unit is made up of Tmall's electrical appliances online shopping category, cloud computing operations, and online customer-to-customer marketplace Taobao's crowd funding platform. The platform allows smaller businesses to raise capital from a large group of investors and promote and sell their products.

Alibaba has more than 300 million online shoppers in China, and provides a range of sites and services, such as Tmall e-commerce site for companies to list their products in a digital storefront, and Alipay, which offers digital payment transactions, similar to PayPal.

The company's foray into "smart living" is part of its approach to the so-called "Internet of Things," which introduces Internet connectivity to everyday products that have been offline. For example, products like refrigerators, washing machines, and others, can talk to owners, provide key information, and make the home "smarter."

But Alibaba's push into cars and "smart living" is about more than just shopping, reports CNET. The company's auto loans program is an attempt to create revenue on cars bought and sold through its services. By using crowdfunding, Alibaba is getting products early to the Internet of Things onto its site, while still generating revenue off the sale of those devices, says CNET.

TagsAlibaba Launches Automotive, 'Smart Living' Units, Baidu. JD.com, SAIC Motor Corp, Tmall