Chinese internet giant Baidu signed a strategic cooperation agreement with Xiamen King Long United Automotive Industry on Oct 17 to work on commercial driverless vehicles.

The cooperation is expected to realize small-scale mass production of commercial-use unmanned vehicles by the end of July in 2018, with the production of the first domestic self-driving bus.

The plan involves putting self-driving buses into trial operation next year, and bringing forward domestic mass production of self-driving vehicles in the next two years.

Lu Qi (L), president and CEO of Baidu Inc, and Xie Siyu, president of King Long United Automotive Industry sign a strategic cooperation agreement on Oct 17. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Zhongguancun-based Baidu's new project – Apollo – aims to open up the company's autonomous driving platform to its partners, so as to further develop self-driving technology.

The Apollo platform will not only provide self-driving solutions for the new bus but also have input on the overall design of the vehicle including appearance, iDrive and special demand framework.

Lu Qi, president and CEO of Baidu Inc, said, "The cooperation between Baidu and King Long enjoys great advantages in artificial intelligence and vehicle manufacture, which will lead to rich commercial value and ease the long-lasting traffic problems in China."

King Long is among Baidu's first batch of eco-partners and the first passenger car company to cooperate on Baidu's Apollo project.

Baidu exhibits the Apollo self-driving vehicle during the Third National Mass Entrepreneurship and Innovation Activity Week in Beijing. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]