Search engine Baidu and carmaker Geely’s venture starts delivery of self-driving EV, to compete with Tesla’s Model Y
- The battery-powered sport utility vehicle JiYue 01 can run as much as 720 kilometres on a single charge and will compete directly with Tesla’s Model Y
- It is the world’s first passenger car with Level 4 (L4) autonomous driving capability which allows cars to handle most driving situations independently
The joint venture between search-engine giant Baidu and China’s top private carmaker Geely, began delivering an electric vehicle (EV) model with self-driving capabilities in a bid to take on Tesla’s Model Y in the mainland’s cutthroat market.
JiYue 01, a premium battery-powered sport-utility vehicle (SUV), featuring autonomous driving system and voice-activated control technology, is priced from 249,000 yuan (US$34,148) to 339,900 yuan, and will go head-to-head with Tesla’s Model Y which has a price tag of between 263,900 yuan and 363,900 yuan. The car can run as much as 720 kilometres on a single charge.
“We believe it is at a preliminary stage of creating a genuine ‘robocar’ in the future,” Luo Gang, chief operating officer of Hangzhou Jiyue Automotive Technology, the Baidu-Geely carmaking venture, told reporters at a media briefing on Friday. “We have high confidence in our product but we still lack brand awareness to gain a considerable market share.”
The company said JiYue 01 is the world’s first passenger car with Level 4 (L4) autonomous driving capability. Level 4 or fully autonomous driving allows the car to handle most driving situations independently, although a human driver can still request control, according to global standards body SAE International. Apollo, Baidu’s autonomous driving unit, has provided the self-driving software.
Beijing has yet to approve use of L3 and L3+ autonomous driving on the mainland roads, and drivers are required to keep their hands on the steering wheel at all times.