Chinese internet platform and AI developer Baidu has announced its plan to establish a company to produce intelligent electric vehicles (EV) with Chinese OEM Geely.
The new company, which will operate as an independent subsidiary of Baidu, will oversee the entire industrial chain, from vehicle design to research and development, as well as manufacturing, sales, and service. Baidu will provide intelligent driving capabilities to power the vehicles to be produced by the new company, while Geely will contribute its expertise in automobile manufacturing.
Baidu will support the company’s rapid growth with its full portfolio of core technologies, including Apollo autonomous driving, DuerOS for Apollo, and Baidu Maps. By utilizing Baidu’s leading AI technologies and its eight years of experience in the intelligent transportation field, the new company aims to reshape intelligent vehicle offerings and bring about a revolution in intelligent transportation.
The new company has selected renowned Chinese automaker and vehicle brand Geely to be a partner and key strategic investor. The two parties will collaborate closely in vehicle manufacturing and will leverage Geely’s new Sustainable Experience Architecture (SEA), a world-leading EV manufacturing platform, to jointly develop the next generation of intelligent vehicles.
The establishment of the new intelligent EV company represents the ultimate deployment of AI technology and an important strategic framework for the future of intelligent transportation. Going forward, Baidu will uphold its spirit of open collaboration across the AI technology industry, striving to work closely with its ecosystem partners to advance the new wave of intelligent transformation.
Geely, which holds the distinction of being the best-selling Chinese automobile brand in past years under the Volvo and Geely brands, will contribute its expertise in automobile design and manufacturing.
“At Baidu, we have long believed in the future of intelligent driving and have over the past decade invested heavily in AI to build a portfolio of world-class self-driving services. China has become the world’s largest market for EVs, and we are seeing EV consumers demanding next generation vehicles to be more intelligent.” says Robin Li, co-founder and CEO of Baidu.
“As a top Chinese automaker with global reach, Geely has the unique experience and resources to design, produce and market energy-efficient, reliable and safe automobiles in large scale,” he continues. “We believe that by combining Baidu’s expertise in smart transportation, connected vehicles and autonomous driving with Geely’s expertise as a leading automobile and EV manufacturer, the new partnership will pave the way for future passenger vehicles.”
