Jidu, Baidu’s smart EV arm raises US$400 million to accelerate development of first production model with L4 autonomous driving technology
- The funding was raised from joint venture partners Baidu and Geely
- Earlier this month Jidu said it would unveil a prototype at the Beijing car show in April and start deliveries next year
It comes after a US$300 million capital injection in March when the smart EV builder was established by the two partners, with Baidu holding a 55 per cent stake and Geely the rest.
Xia Yiping, chief executive of Jidu, said in the statement that the first production model would be a “benchmark-level product” and beat customers’ expectations.
In early January, Baidu became the first mainland company to give a clear time frame to launch a mass production car with L4 automation. A prototype of the new car is expected to be unveiled at the Beijing Auto Show in April, with mass production and delivery to start in 2023.
In most circumstances, L4 cars do not require human intervention, but the driver still has the option to manually override and take over control of the car, according to SAE International, a global standardisation body.