CEO Robin Li fast-tracks smart EV development to harness Baidu’s AI tech and mount a challenge to Tesla
- A clay model for the vehicle has been completed four months after Baidu and Geely put their car-making joint venture Jidu Auto into operation
- The tech giant is hoping to harness its AI tech as it builds an EV presence, in a market where electrification and digitalisation are redrawing landscape
Baidu has revved up development of its first electric vehicle (EV) production model as the search giant prepares to premiere a prototype in April next year, amid rapid growth in China’s EV market.
A clay model for the vehicle has been completed four months after Baidu and Geely put their car-making joint venture Jidu Auto into operation, the Beijing-based company said in a statement on Thursday.
Chief executive Robin Li said he wants to shorten development time of the new model to showcase Baidu’s latest artificial intelligence (AI) technologies.
“We hope that our AI technologies [used on the smart vehicles] can be launched onto the market as soon as they are ready,” Li said in the statement, without mentioning a time frame for the launch of its first mass production model.
“Baidu’s approach towards AI technology has always revolved around delivering equitable outcomes by making technology more accessible, providing freedom and possibilities for all,” Li told the World Artificial Intelligence Conference in Shanghai on Thursday.
Xia Yiping, chief executive of Jidu, told reporters in June that a prototype would debut at the Beijing Auto Show in April next year.