The Chinese search engine giant Baidu has announced a partnership with car manufacturer Geely, in which the pair will make electric vehicles. This announcement comes on the heels of a rumoured partnership between the two, but has been confirmed in a report from Reuters.
This collaboration speaks to the tech giant's ambition to enter the automotive market. Baidu has spent years researching self-driving technology and is currently the leading company in the Chinese automotive sphere, making this latest leap to the EV market feel like a natural progression. Meanwhile, Chinese tech giants have been investing in the automotive or electric vehicle market as of lately, with Alibaba's recent partnership with ride share giant, Didi Chuxing.
Image Credit: Costfoto/Barcroft Media via Getty Images
Key Themes Behind This Trend
- Search Engine-made Vehicles
- Baidu's partnership with Geely to make electric vehicles is a new trend of tech giants entering the automotive market.
- Big Tech Investing in EV Market
- Chinese tech giants like Baidu and Alibaba investing in the EV market is a trend to watch for startups and established automakers.
- Self-driving Technology Advancements and Evs
- Baidu's advancements in self-driving technology making its entry into the EV market a trend that blurs the boundaries between tech and automotive industries.
Where This Applies
- Automotive
- The partnership between Baidu and Geely marks an innovation opportunity for the automotive industry to collaborate with big tech in producing EVs and incorporating self-driving technology.
- Technology
- Big tech's entry into the EV industry represents an opportunity for technological innovation, with advancements in AI and self-driving technology as potential disruptive innovations.
- Ride-sharing
- Alibaba's partnership with Didi Chuxing and Baidu's entry into the EV market could change the landscape of the ride-sharing industry in China, with the possibility of electric self-driving vehicles becoming more prevalent.
