China's Baidu Tech has teamed up with Volvo Cars in a project that seeks to develop and produce the first self-driving taxis in the country, the two firms announced on Thursday, opening up new opportunities for the Swedish brand to secure its position in the upsurging robotaxi market as its Uber supply deal remains stagnant.
In a video published over at Baidu's YouTube channel, the president of the Chinese internet giant, Ya-Qin Zhang held conversations with the carmaker's CEO, Håkan Samuelsson, during the Baidu World 2018 event.
During the occasion, the two company leaders confirmed their partnership in delivering autonomous driving into the Chinese transport market, as well as talked about the impact of this initiative on the future of AI cities.
In this partnership, the Chinese-owned Swedish car company will offer its expertise in auto manufacturing using the most advanced technologies there is in the industry. Baidu, on the other hand, will give Volvo the rights to use its autonomous driving software Apollo, the report from CNBC further stated.
With Baidu's Apollo, Volvo will attempt to create and manufacture a so-called Level 4 car which is already considered as one of the most sophisticated autonomous vehicles that have yet to hit the road.
Cars that have top Level 5 designation are those that are deemed capable of navigating roads in all conditions without the aid of a human driver.
Neither company opted to disclose the financial information of the deal.
Autonomous Driving Technology For Mass Consumption
Samuelsson, in a subsequent press statement, said that with Baidu on board, the company will be taking a huge leap in commercializing autonomous cars that were built on Volvo's industry-leading safety technology.
The Gotenburg, Sweden-based company has long been hailed in the auto-manufacturing industry for its reputation of producing some of the safest road vehicles.
The Swedish CEO also pointed out the stiff competition in the development of autonomous drive in the Chinese market and is privileged for being chosen by Baidu as its partner in the project.
Ya-Qin said that Volvo is one of the company's top picks for this joint venture due to carmaker's long-standing safety credentials.
Both firms aim to begin selling robotaxis to ride-hailing operators in the country by 2025, a report from Reuters said. Their target market in the segment is those with whom they previously sold their cars.
China has since become a home to the rapidly growing autonomous vehicles sector. Multiple firms such as Tencent, Didi Chuxing, and Baidu, have been vying to dominate the niche.
