Baidu's Jidu Auto to invest $7.7 billion in 'robot' smart cars
Xia Yiping said on Friday that the funding would come from Baidu.
BEIJING (Reuters) - Jidu Auto, an electric vehicle venture between China’s tech giant Baidu and Chinese automaker Geely, aims to plough 50 billion yuan ($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 analyse 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.
Baidu’s Hong Kong-listed shares jumped as much as 1.34% after Reuters reported Jidu’s investment plan.
