Baidu’s Jidu Auto to invest $7.7 billion in ‘robot’ smart cars

Jidu Auto, an electric vehicle venture between China’s tech giant Baidu and Chinese automaker Geely, aims to plough RMB 50 billion ($7.7 billion) into producing smart cars over the next five years, its chief executive told Reuters. Xia Yiping said on Friday that the funding would come from Baidu and other investors and Jidu would aim to launch its first electric vehicle (EV) in three years, as is standard for the industry, but would make efforts to speed this up.

Its first EV would look like a “robot” and would target young customers, Xia said, adding that Jidu would analyze big market data before deciding on a final model.

“It will make you feel like it’s a robot that can communicate with you with emotions,” said Xia, who co-founded and served as chief technology officer at Chinese bike-sharing firm Mobike until it was acquired by Meituan in 2018.