Recently, the joint venture project between Baidu and Geely Automobile has undergone major changes. . The two sides announced the strategic cooperation upgrade, jointly launched a new automobile robot brand-Extreme Yue, and released its first model, Extreme Yue 01. This dynamic means further development and innovation in the field of smart cars.
Looking back on the cooperation between the two parties, they started to build cars together in early 2021 and jointly established Jidu Automobile Co., Ltd., in which Baidu holds 55% of the shares and Geely holds 45%. However, the limited edition of ROBO-01, the first automobile robot launched by Jidu, has not been delivered so far, and the relevant information can not be found in the inquiry system of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, which raises doubts about the legitimacy of Jidu automobile.
In order to solve the problem of production qualification, Jidu Automobile made a series of industrial and commercial changes, among which Geely withdrew from the ranks of shareholders in June 2022, making Baidu the sole shareholder. Then, Jidu Automobile was renamed Shanghai Mihang Automobile Co., Ltd., and Hangzhou Jiyue Automobile Technology Co., Ltd. was established. These adjustments are to meet the needs of business development and have not changed the shareholding ratio of Baidu and Geely.
Recently, Geely Automobile and Baidu set up a joint venture to further strengthen the cooperation between the two sides. The legal representative of the new company is Zhang Quan, senior vice president of Geely Holding Group, and the general manager is Xia Yiping, CEO of Jidu Automobile. The company’s main business scope includes new energy vehicle sales, automobile sales and auto parts retail.
Although Jidu does not have independent automobile manufacturing qualification at present, as a brand-new brand under Geely, Jiyue Automobile can rely on Geely’s production qualification for production. According to the latest announcement of the 374th batch of new automobile products issued by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the information of Extreme Yue 01 has appeared in it, and delivery is expected to begin soon.
At the same time, JIDU Automobile was renamed Jidu, and the official website was renamed Jiyue Automobile Robot. Jidu will focus on smart car product definition and AI intelligent technology innovation, and provide support for Extreme Yue brand. This cooperation upgrade has brought more cooperation opportunities for Baidu and Geely, and injected new vitality into the smart car industry.
Personally, the upgrade of strategic cooperation between Baidu and Geely, as well as the release of the ultra-yue brand, have undoubtedly had a positive impact on the smart car industry in China. The cooperation between the two parties will give full play to their respective advantages, strengthen technological innovation and resource integration, and is expected to promote the development of smart cars. However, the problems in the production qualification of Jidu automobile still need to be paid attention to and solved to ensure its compliance operation and meet consumers’ expectations for legal and compliant products. Only on the basis of compliance and legality can we steadily promote the development of the smart car industry.