Baidu, WM Motor announce strategic partnership for L3, L4 autonomous driving solutions

Gasgoo- Chinese technology titan Baidu and EV startup WM Motor announced at the CES 2019 a long-term strategic partnership for L3 and L4 autonomous driving solutions. Meanwhile, both parties agreed to set up the “WM Motor & Apollo Joint ICV Technology R&D Center” to promote the popularization of self-driving EV technologies in China. 

Under the agreement, Baidu and WM Motor will complement each other with respective resources and advantages, jointly plowing human resources in development of ICVs, and the research fruits will be directly applied in the startup’s mass-produced models.

The agreement says the L3 high-speed autonomous driving solution is planned to be mass produced in 2021 and hundreds of thousands of WM Motor-owned vehicles carrying the L3 solution are expected to be sold in the future.

The Internet company announced Apollo 3.5, the latest version of its Apollo open source autonomous driving platform, and Apollo Enterprise during the technology fest.

As Baidu explained, Apollo Enterprise is designed to offer tailor-made mass-produced safe autonomous driving and ICV solutions to OEMs, auto parts suppliers and mobility service providers, which is in tune with WM Motor's vision to customize personalized intelligent mobility services for users.

Additionally, both companies jointly demonstrates a WM EX5-based testing vehicle at the show. According to the cooperative deal, the EV startup will provide vehicles for Baidu to develop and test its autonomous driving technologies. 

It is also revealed that WM Motor will open the configurator of its ADAS with L2 autonomous features in the first half of 2019.