Following the footsteps of Apple and Google, Chinese search giant Baidu is reportedly planning to introduce its autonomous car this year.
Bloomberg cited Baidu Robin Li as saying at the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference that the company has teamed up with automakers for the same and has been researching about smart cars.
However, Li did not name the partners in the autonomous car venture.
Previously, China’s Information Technology and Industry Minister Miao Wei reportedly encouraged tie-ups between existing auto manufacturers and companies outside the traditional auto industry like Baidu and other tech titans, in order to spark innovation and competition.
The publication also cited CSC International Holdings analyst Han Weiqi as saying: "Marrying traditional and the cutting edge can speed up the evolution of the auto industry.
"IT companies have an edge in areas like big data, cloud technology and Internet of things, where traditional automakers are weak."
Apart from Baidu, Beijing based Leshi Internet has also expressed interest in connected electric car, and said that it would invest billions of dollars into developing one.
In the US, Google brought in the new wave by introducing self-driving car, followed by Apple, which is reportedly developing its own version of the next generation vehicle.
