Jidu

The Jidu ROBO-01 concept car will have a uniquely shaped steering wheel, an ultra-wide display, and a very high-tech cockpit, the latest set of posters shows.

In China, cars priced around RMB 200,000 are seen as offering the best balance of affordability and specifications.

To make the futuristic design ready for mass production, Jidu's engineering team solved a number of technical challenges for the molding process, its CEO said.

Jidu said its robot car design is inspired by spaceships, with advanced self-driving capabilities and an ultra-intelligent cockpit.

Unlike other automakers currently using one autonomous driving solution, Jidu is developing two separate systems, pure vision and LiDAR, that serve as backups for each other.

Jidu has already begun development on subsequent models including the second and third, which will be unveiled as early as this year's Guangzhou Auto Show, the company's CEO said.

In Jidu's CEO's opinion, battery swap stations will overtake superchargers and home chargers as the primary means of replenishing energy when EVs become mainstream.

Jidu will hold its first JIDU ROBODay event and unveil its robot car concept on April 18, three days ahead of the Beijing Auto Show, which will be held from April 21 to April 30.

Jidu and ZF have signed a strategic agreement to jointly develop smart chassis, which is seen as the hardware foundation for advanced autonomous driving technology.

The funding round, from Baidu and its strategic partner Geely, will help JiDU accelerate the development and mass production of its first robot car.