Chinese search giant Baidu, automaker Geely join hands to penetrate EV market

New Delhi, India - China’s Google equivalent search engine, Baidu which specialises in Internet-related services and artificial intelligence will set up a company to produce electric vehicles (EVs) in collaboration with Chinese automaker Geely.

According to TechCrunch, Baidu, a dominant player in China’s Internet search market will provide smart driving technologies and Geely, which has an impending merger with Sweden’s Volvo, will be in charge of car design and manufacturing. This move marks Baidu to become the latest company in China’s Internet industry to enter the EV space. Back in November, news came that Alibaba and Chinese state-owned carmaker SAIC Motor had joined hands to produce electric cars.

Ride-share company Didi and EV maker BYD co-developed a model for ride-hailing, which is already attracting customers like Ideanomics.

Baidu’s car push is part of its effort to diversify a business relying on search advertising revenue. New media platforms such as ByteDance’s Toutiao news aggregator and short-video app Douyin come with their own search feature and have gradually eroded the share of traditional search engines like Baidu.

As per TechCrunch, this new venture will operate as a Baidu subsidiary where Geely will serve as a strategic partner and Baidu units like Apollo and Baidu Maps will contribute capabilities. The firm will cover the entire industrial chain, including vehicle design, research and development, manufacturing, sales, and service.