Geely to Build Smart EVs with Chinese Tech Company Baidu

Photo credit: Geely

From Car and Driver

• Automaker Geely and tech company Baidu have entered into a partnership to start a new company to build connected, autonomous electric vehicles.

• The vehicles will be based on Geely's electric Sustainable Experience Architecture (SEA) with Baidu technology onboard and will offer a maximum of about 435 miles of range.

• The partnership will result in a new company although its name is unknown and there’s no word on when the first vehicle will be announced.

Automaker Geely is expanding beyond building its own vehicles and expanding into partnerships with companies looking to get into EVs. Geely has announced that it's partnering with Chinese tech giant Baidu to build vehicles. Baidu has been called the Google of China. Geely said in a statement that "The strategic partnership will focus primarily on the joint research and development and production of intelligent and connected electric vehicles."

The partnership brings together the strengths of the two companies, with Geely bringing its new open-source electric Sustainable Experience Architecture (SEA) and Baidu contributing its driver-assistance technology, including the Apollo self-driving system that it showed off in September 2020. Geely states that its platform will have single, double, and triple motor availability, have a maximum range of over 435 miles, and go from zero to 60 mph in less than three seconds.

The collaboration will result in a new company, although the name has yet to be announced. At its core, Geely will build the upcoming electric vehicles, which will use Baidu's driver-assistance features. “As a top Chinese automaker with global reach, Geely has the unique experience and resources to design, produce and market energy-efficient, reliable, and safe automobiles in large scale,” Baidu CEO Robin Li said in a statement. “We believe that by combining Baidu's expertise in smart transportation, connected vehicles and autonomous driving with Geely's expertise as a leading automobile and EV manufacturer, the new partnership will pave the way for future passenger vehicles."

Geely has its own brand of EVs and is also the parent company of several automakers, including Volvo, which is moving toward electrification and is the majority stockholder of Lotus.

We’ve reached out to Baidu and Geely about when we'll see the first vehicle from the partnership and if they plan to sell the vehicles outside of China and will update this article if they share that information.

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