Baidu today announced the formation of a smart car company to enter the automotive industry as a full vehicle manufacturer. In addition to providing technology and production capacity support for the new company, Geely is also providing support for supply chain procurement.
Geely will support Baidu with technology, production capacity, engineering, manufacturing and quality control, and the new company will also use Geely's supply chain procurement system, cls.cn said, citing sources familiar with the matter.
Baidu is mainly responsible for the design and software part of the vehicle in the manufacturing segment, and will be responsible for vehicle distribution, user operations and brand building in the future, the report said.
Baidu officially announces its entry into car-making industry
Geely Holding Group will be a strategic partner in the new Baidu-owned company, which will build next-generation smart cars based on Geely's newly developed new Sustainable Experience Architecture (SEA).
Baidu said it wants to leverage Apollo's leading autonomous driving capabilities and its eight years of experience in automotive intelligence to reshape smart car products and become a game-changer in the smart mobility era.
Baidu will support the company's growth with its full portfolio of core technologies, including Apollo autonomous driving, DuerOS for Apollo, and Baidu Maps.
Baidu said to be planning to set up EV joint venture with Geely
