A major new player will soon emerge in the Chinese electric vehicle market. Local internet giant Baidu has agreed with carmaker Geely to create an autonomous unit, CNBC reports.
It will function as an independent company. Geely, which will be engaged in production, will receive a minority stake. Baidu will be in charge of software and technology.
As noted by the head of Baidu Robin Li, China’s electric car market is the largest in the world, and consumers want cars to be more intelligent. Therefore, the company is going to challenge the current industry leaders and companies that are currently ramping up sales or launching the first models. Among them are local Nio, Li Auto and Xpeng Motors, which reported sharp sales growth in December, and American Tesla, which opened a plant in China a year ago.
Baidu, which owns China’s largest search engine, has its own maps app and DuerOS voice assistant technology that can be integrated into the vehicle.
The opening of a factory in China marked the beginning of the most disruptive year for Tesla in the company’s history. Despite the global crisis associated with the coronavirus pandemic, investors believed in the manufacturer’s prospects, and its value soared eightfold. The head of the company, Elon Musk, at the beginning of the year became the richest man in the world. His fortune is estimated at $ 200 billion.
In 2020, the company sold 120 thousand vehicles in China. In 2021, according to the estimates of the China Passenger Car Association, we can talk about 280 thousand, but the company will have to face competition.