BMW and Baidu to speed up autonomous driving platform development

BMW Group has signed a memorandum of understanding with Chinese tech giant Baidu to enhance autonomous driving development in China.

BMW will join Baidu’s open autonomous driving platform Apollo as a board member as part of the agreement. It was reached during Chinese Premier Li Keqiang’s visit to Germany.

Under the collaboration, the companies will collectively work to bring convenient, safe and intelligent mobility experiences for consumers in China.

Baidu president Ya-Qin Zhang said: “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.

“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.”

Baidu’s Apollo is an open platform that was rolled out in July last year. The solution supports all key features and functions of an autonomous vehicle.

So far, 118 global partners from both automotive and technology industries have joined Apollo.

Similarly, BMW is developing an autonomous driving platform that will support Level 3 to Level 4 / 5 highly to fully automated driving and Level 2 advanced driving assistance systems.

BMW Development management board member Klaus Fröhlich said: “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 latest development follows a recent collaboration on connected vehicles between the two companies.

It represents the next level of their partnership in advancing the autonomous driving ecosystem.