BMW Group and Baidu Join Forces to Accelerate the Development of Autonomous Driving in China

Berlin/Beijing/Munich. Baidu, Inc. (NASDAQ:BIDU) and
the BMW Group today announced they have signed a Memorandum of
Understanding (MoU), under which the BMW Group will join Apollo, the
open autonomous driving platform by Baidu, as a board member. The
partnership was made official during Chinese Premier Li Keqiang’s
visit to Germany on July 10th to meet with German Chancellor Angela
Merkel. The MoU marks the beginning of a new partnership on autonomous
driving between the BMW Group and Baidu. The two companies seek to
work together to bring safe, convenient and intelligent mobility
experiences for consumers in China.

 

“BMW Group and Baidu have a long history of working together on
advancing autonomous driving technology, and we have maintained a
strong relationship throughout the years. BMW Group and Baidu have
been actively exploring the intelligent vehicle sector and are
well-aligned in our vision for the future of autonomous driving,” said
Ya-Qin Zhang, President of Baidu. “We hope this deepened cooperation
will bring Chinese consumers intelligent and comfortable product
experiences. Our aim is to accelerate the development of autonomous
driving technologies that align with the Chinese market,” he added.

 

Klaus Fröhlich, Member of the Board of Management of BMW AG for
development, said: “Strong ties between automotive and tech leaders
are our key to success in the marathon towards autonomous driving. We
are striving for consistent technology standards globally to overcome
today’s regional discrepancy regarding speed of implementation and
regulatory framework. With BMW Group and Baidu joining forces we can
significantly accelerate the alignment of specific requirements and
technological approaches to turn the vision of autonomous driving into
reality for Chinese customers very soon.”

 

The BMW Group is developing an autonomous driving platform with
technology solutions for Level 3 to Level 4/5 (highly to fully
automated driving), as well as for advanced driving assistance systems
(Level 2). This scalable autonomous driving solution is being
developed with technology and OEM partners that contribute knowledge,
resources and intellectual property assets for a state-of-the-art concept.

 

Apollo is an open platform that provides a comprehensive, secure and
reliable solution that supports all major features and functions of an
autonomous vehicle. Since its launch in July, 2017, Apollo has brought
together 118 global partners across both automotive and technology
industries. Apollo’s success is built on its commitment to enabling
developers and partners to accelerate the pace of innovation by
opening capabilities and sharing resources.

 

Today’s announcement, which follows on the heels of a recent
collaboration between the two companies on connected vehicles, marks
the next level of Baidu’s and the BMW Group’s partnership in advancing
the autonomous driving ecosystem.

 

If you have any queries, please contact:

 

Corporate Communications

 

Max-Morten Borgmann, Business and Finance Communications
Telephone: +49 89 382-24118, Fax: +49 89 382-24418

max-morten.borgmann@bmwgroup.com

 

Glenn Schmidt, Head of Business and Finance Communications

Telephone: +49 89 382-24544, Fax: +49 89 382-24418

glenn.schmidt@bmwgroup.com

  

Baidu International Communications, intlcomm@baidu.com

 

Media website: www.press.bmwgroup.com

Email: presse@bmw.de

 
 

About Baidu

Baidu, Inc. is the leading Chinese language Internet search provider.
Baidu aims to make a complex world simpler through technology. Baidu’s
ADSs trade on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol
“BIDU”. Currently, ten ADSs represent one Class A ordinary share.

 

The BMW Group

 

With its four brands BMW, MINI, Rolls-Royce and BMW Motorrad, the BMW
Group is the world’s leading premium manufacturer of automobiles and
motorcycles and also provides premium financial and mobility services.
The BMW Group production network comprises 30 production and assembly
facilities in 14 countries; the company has a global sales network in
more than 140 countries.

 

In 2017, the BMW Group sold over 2,463,500 passenger vehicles and
more than 164,000 motorcycles worldwide. The profit before tax in the
financial year 2017 was € 10.655 billion on revenues amounting to
€ 98.678 billion. As of 31 December 2017, the BMW Group had a
workforce of 129,932 employees.

 

The success of the BMW Group has always been based on long-term
thinking and responsible action. The company has therefore established
ecological and social sustainability throughout the value chain,
comprehensive product responsibility and a clear commitment to
conserving resources as an integral part of its strategy.

 

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