Jidu plans to launch a limited edition of its first model in partnership with the Chinese Lunar Exploration Program, with a limited number of 1,000 units and exclusive rights for owners.
Jidu Auto, the car-building arm of Baidu, plans to unveil the production version of its first model in November, but a limited edition will be unveiled before then.
Jidu will unveil a limited edition of its first model, the ROBO-01, in collaboration with the Chinese Lunar Exploration Program in October, the company announced today.
The version will be limited to 1,000 units, and owners will receive exclusive benefits, including the opportunity to watch live rocket launches of national missions in the Chinese space sector.
Saturday, September 10 is the Mid-Autumn Festival, a traditional Chinese holiday associated with the moon.
This is a historic collaboration between top human science and technology and smart cars 3.0, Jidu said, adding that the two sides will carry out in-depth cooperation in artificial intelligence and interstellar exploration in the future.
Continuously break through the boundaries of science and technology, to create a very futuristic, intelligent and leading, safe and reliable new species of robot car is Jidu's mission, said the company's CEO Xia Yiping.
Jidu will focus on technology research and development in the field of high-level autonomous driving and artificial intelligence, and continuously promote the application of cutting-edge technology, he said.
Jidu, which was officially established on March 2, 2021, will build models based on Geely's Sustainable Experience Architectureplatform and Baidu's technology in autonomous driving.
The company held its inaugural ROBODAY event on June 8 and unveiled its robot car concept, the ROBO-01.
Jidu plans to officially launch a limited version of its first production model in the fall of 2022, with the production model boasting a 90 percent resemblance to the ROBO-01 concept, with official deliveries expected in the second half of 2023, it previously said.
A regular version of the ROBO-01 is expected to be unveiled during the 2022 Guangzhou auto show in November, when Jidu also plans to unveil the exterior design of its second production car.
Jidu's second model will begin taking orders in 2023, with deliveries starting in 2024, according to information previously announced by the company.
Jidu's first experience center will open in Shanghai during the year, and it plans to have its sales network cover 46 cities in China with 100 stores by 2023.
Jidu's first production vehicle will be SUV to compete with Tesla Model Y
