Chinese smart vehicle supplier Shanghai PATEO said on Tuesday it and General Motors Co's local venture with SAIC Motor Corp have jointly submitted complaints against tech giant Tencent to China's market regulator.

PATEO said in a statement that Tencent abused its dominant messaging app's market position to restrict sales of its products which have functions controlled via WeChat.

It said Tencent has been asking car companies to stop using PATEO's Internet of Vehicles products since August 2020.

Tencent, GM and SAIC's joint venture SAIC-GM-Wuling did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Chinese regulators have stepped up anti-trust scrutiny since December, launching a probe into e-commerce giant Alibaba and doling out punishment to Alibaba-backed and Tencent-backed firms for not seeking anti-trust reviews for deals.