Mass-Production Version of JiDU’s ROBO-01 Exposed

On September 5, a test car in disguise on a street in Beijing was recorded by observers. Judging from details such as its outline and the headlights, it can be determined that this is the mass-production version of ROBO-01, the first model to be produced by JiDU, local auto media Chedongxi reported on September 5.

Last year, Baidu and Geely established a joint venture company called JiDU. This summer, JiDU released the concept version of its first model, the ROBO-01, with special designs such as double doors and liftable lidar.

Previously, JiDU said that the ROBO-01 concept car has a 90% similarity with its final production version. Due to the limitation of laws, regulations, cost and technology, some advanced designs used for the concept cars will be abandoned.

It can be seen from the recently exposed video that the biggest difference between the test car and the concept car is the return of the B pillar. In the concept version of the ROBO-01, the front door adopts a butterfly wing design, and the rear door adopts a carriage-type design. The opening and closing angles of the front and rear doors are relatively large, and the vehicle adopts the design without a B pillar, which makes the whole passenger compartment look integrated to facilitate passengers getting in and out of the vehicle.

On the test vehicle, the B pillar returned. As for whether the rear door is opened backward, it is still impossible to confirm from the video. In addition, the front auxiliary driving camera on the side of the vehicle also adopts the same layout as Tesla, which can better reduce the drag coefficient and provide a better side view.

Another big difference between the concept car and the test car photographed this time is that the latter is equipped with physical rearview mirrors, because current laws and regulations do not allow vehicles without physical rearview mirrors for sale.

The liftable lidar on the concept car has also disappeared. Previously, on the ROBO-01 concept car, two lidars were located on both sides of the front cover, and it adopted a liftable design. According to the real video shot by web users, although the front cover of the test car is covered with black cloth, the overall surface is relatively flat without any bulges.

In terms of interior decoration, the most likely change is the telescopic steering wheel, which is also due to current laws and regulations.

SEE ALSO: JiDU Plans to Enter 46 Cities in China by End of 2023

JiDU’s ROBO-01 inherits the full set of capabilities and safety system of Baidu Apollo’s high-level automated driving, and it has been re-integrated, developed and verified for mass production and consumers. When the vehicle is delivered, users can experience high-level auxiliary driving functions right away, without any waiting for OTA upgrade.