Chinese internet giant Baidu said it had agreed with local automaker Zhejiang Geely Holding to establish a strategic partnership to develop and produce smart electric vehicles (EVs).
The two companies plan to establish a new car making joint venture with Geely providing its automotive design and manufacturing expertise while Baidu will contribute advanced driving technology.
Go deeper with GlobalData
Discover B2B Marketing That Performs
Combine business intelligence and editorial excellence to reach engaged professionals across 36 leading media platforms.
Robin Li, co-founder and CEO of Baidu, said in a statement "we have long believed in the future of intelligent driving and over the past decade we have invested heavily in artificial intelligence (AI) to build a portfolio of world class self driving services. China has become the world's largest EV market and we seeing EV consumers demanding next generation vehicles be more intelligent".
Geely is a leading domestic passenger vehicle manufacturer in China with sales of its Geely and Lynk & Co brand vehicles down by just 3% at 1.32m units in 2020.
The company also has a majority stake in Volvo Cars and holds just under half of the shares in Malaysian national carmaker Proton Holdings.
Li added "as a top Chinese automaker with global reach, Geely has the unique experience and resources to design, produce and market energy efficient, reliable and safe automobiles on a large scale. We believe that by combining Baidu's expertise in smart transportation, connected vehicles and autonomous driving with Geely's expertise as a leading automobile and EV manufacturer, our new partnership will lead the way for future passenger vehicles".
