Baidu's car-making JV raises $400 million

Jidu, a joint venture between Chinese technology giant Baidu and Chinese carmaker Geely, said Wednesday that it has raised nearly $400 million from its two parents.

The joint venture, established in January 2021, said the funds will help to speed up its research and development including autonomous driving and smart manufacturing, as well as the first vehicle model's volume production.

Jidu is scheduled to showcase its first model, which will be a concept robocar, at the Beijing auto show which will be held in April this year, and the mass-produced version will hit the market in 2023.

China is the world's largest market for electric cars and plug-in hybrids, attracting startups and established carmakers to explore the burgeoning segment.

Last year around 3.5 million such vehicles were sold in China, and the figure is expected to hit 5 million in 2022, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers.