Photo: Simon Song / South China Morning Post
Baidu, one of the largest Internet companies in the world, has long sought to get involved in the auto industry, especially because of the AI solutions it can provide for use in self-driving technologies.
Two of the biggest steps toward becoming a major player in this new industry were taken this week, when the Chinese announced the signing of partnerships with both Ford and its former European brand Volvo.
Together with Ford Baidu will be testing over the next two years Level 4 capable autonomous vehicles in the nation's capital, Beijing. The rollout of the properly equipped cars is expected to take place by the end of this year.
Working on two fronts, Baidu has also tapped Volvo for the joint development of “electric and fully autonomous drive-compatible cars.” The two will do this not just for the fun of it, but with the goal of eventually mass-produce them.
Baidu’s aggressive moves into this field, which makes analysts compare it with Google when it comes to Internet prowess and with Waymo when it comes to cars, appears to have caused some confusion over which carmaker matters most for the Chinese, if any.
In a statement published on November 1, Volvo says it is the “first foreign car maker to collaborate this closely with Baidu to jointly develop customized autonomous driving cars.”
The only problem is Ford made its announcement at about the same time, if not earlier, saying the cars they’ll be jointly testing were modified for this purpose even before that.
Regardless who was first to the table, there’s enough pie to go around. China is poised to become the largest market for self-driving vehicles over the following decades, with research firm IHS Markit claiming that by 2040 14.5 million such cars will drive themselves on Chinese roads.
That’s about half of the estimated global volume of 33 million vehicles.
Together with Ford Baidu will be testing over the next two years Level 4 capable autonomous vehicles in the nation's capital, Beijing. The rollout of the properly equipped cars is expected to take place by the end of this year.
Working on two fronts, Baidu has also tapped Volvo for the joint development of “electric and fully autonomous drive-compatible cars.” The two will do this not just for the fun of it, but with the goal of eventually mass-produce them.
Baidu’s aggressive moves into this field, which makes analysts compare it with Google when it comes to Internet prowess and with Waymo when it comes to cars, appears to have caused some confusion over which carmaker matters most for the Chinese, if any.
In a statement published on November 1, Volvo says it is the “first foreign car maker to collaborate this closely with Baidu to jointly develop customized autonomous driving cars.”
The only problem is Ford made its announcement at about the same time, if not earlier, saying the cars they’ll be jointly testing were modified for this purpose even before that.
Regardless who was first to the table, there’s enough pie to go around. China is poised to become the largest market for self-driving vehicles over the following decades, with research firm IHS Markit claiming that by 2040 14.5 million such cars will drive themselves on Chinese roads.
That’s about half of the estimated global volume of 33 million vehicles.
Google News