China's Baidu And CATL Team Up To Build Next-Gen Driverless EVs, Integrating Advanced Battery And Chassis Tech

On Thursday, Baidu Inc BIDU and electric vehicle battery giant Contemporary Amperex Technology Co will jointly explore the development of “competitive” driverless vehicles and innovative business models.

The companies will develop and apply CATL’s power batteries, battery swapping products and services, and skateboard chassis technology in driverless vehicles, Reuters reports.

Baidu’s fourth-quarter robotaxi service reached 1.1 million paid rides in the quarter, up 36%.

Also Read: Alibaba Teams Up With Nvidia to Supercharge EVs for Chinese Automakers: Report

Robotaxi service implies a self-driving car that operates as a taxi.

Baidu’s Apollo Go is discussing expanding its robotaxi services to global markets with companies. EV giant Tesla Inc TSLA is also eying the same market.

WeRide Inc WRD recently won approval to launch its GXR robotaxi in Beijing.

Last December, Uber Technologies, Inc UBER and WeRide launched robotaxi service in Abu Dhabi.

According to CIC, the global autonomous driving market could grow at an 80% compound annual growth rate from $93 billion in 2025 to $1.745 trillion by 2030. For China, the market could grow at 85% CAGR, reaching $639 billion by 2030.

Price Action: BIDU stock is up 0.02% to $89.20 at last check Thursday.

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