Chinese company Baidu announced 2 different partnership deals with leading German suppliers Robert Bosch and Continental AG to co-develop the self-driving technology and smart mobility services.
The two deals underscore the wave of international partnerships being formed in the fast-moving autonomous car sector, which needs both the competencies of standard auto providers and those of technology companies skilled in artificial intelligence, robotics and other extremely technical software.
The collaborations also indicate the value of collaborations between Western automakers and automotive providers and companies based in China, the biggest automobile market worldwide. China released a self-driving “roadmap” in 2016, aiming to have highly or fully autonomous vehicles for sale as soon as 2021.
Daimler and its Chinese joint endeavor partner BAIC Motor agreed to upgrade the Mercedes-Benz factory located in Beijing to make electric vehicles. Baidu and Bosch will check out service models and speed up the commercialization of technologies, Baidu stated. The cooperation “will give the Chinese automotive market a voice in the development of core technologies of automated driving,” Baidu stated.
Continental, which revealed its partnership with Baidu on Wednesday, said both partners plan to develop technologies, products and business models that will offer solutions for automated driving, connected vehicles and smart mobility services.
In April, Bosch stated it was dealing with Baidu and domestic mapping companies AutoNavi – owned by Alibaba Group and NavInfo mapping projects for self-driving vehicles.
Baidu stated on Thursday that it would continue to deal with more producers through cooperative models.
