Baidu-Geely EV Venture Starts Intelligent Driving Solutions Based on SIMU Car

The software team of Jidu Auto has been cooperating with Baidu Apollo to develop a smart cockpit and intelligent driving solutions based on the SIMU Car (simulated sample vehicle), CEO of Jidu Xia Yiping announced on Friday.

According to the executive, the company is currently using a SIMU Car in the early stages of the development process. Jidu has moved up the development of smart cabins and intelligent driving functions by adjusting the electronic and electrical architecture of a mule car to improve efficiency.

Jidu Auto was jointly founded by Chinese tech giant Baidu and automaker Geely on March 2, aiming to create next-generation intelligent vehicles based on Geely’s battery-electric sustainable experience architecture. The company, in which Baidu has a 55% stake and Geely with the remainder, plans to pour 50 billion yuan ($7.7 billion) into producing smart cars over the next five years.

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The company is fast-tracking its automaking progress. On the 100th day since its establishment, the size of the core team approached 200 people. On the 128th day since establishment, it had finished the modelling design and entered the engineering development phase. Jidu completed the wind tunnel test of its first vehicle’s clay model on the 180th day. Then came the recent announcement of initiating intelligent software development, on the 207th day since establishment.

In June, Xia said Jidu would unveil its first model at the 2022 Beijing Auto Show. The car, which will be catered to younger users, will be priced above 200,000 yuan ($31,337) due to “the relatively high costs of smart car components.”