Company type | Private |
---|---|
Industry | Automotive Technology |
Founded | 2021 |
Headquarters | Shanghai, China |
Key people | Joe Xia (CEO) Gang Luo (COO) Frank Wu (CDO) |
Owner | |
Number of employees | Approx. 4000 (2024) |
Website | Official website |
Jidu Auto is a joint venture premium intelligent EV startup between Chinese tech giant Baidu and car manufacturer Geely. It is headquartered in Shanghai, China. Jidu Auto was founded in March 2021 as a technology Ai company that focus on the development of advance intelligence and autonomous electric vehicles. [1]
Originally founded in March 2021 with an investment of $300 million, [2] Jidu Auto completed a $400 million Series A financing in January 2022 from Baidu and Geely, [3] [4] [5]
On December 7, 2022, Jidu Auto changed its legal name to Shanghai Mihang Automobile Co., Ltd. [6]
On February 15, 2023, Jidu Auto announced that the firm would use Baidu's self-developed Ernie bot Artificial intelligence in its production cars as the first company to provide an interactive experience with artificial intelligence in production vehicles. [7] [8]
Ji Yue (极越) brand was established in August 2023, [9] a second company between Geely and Baidu to reconstruct the partnership between the two companies. [10] [11] The Ji Yue brand is 65% owned by Geely and 35% by Baidu which makes Ji Yue brand a subsidiary under Geely Group rather than a joint venture company like Jidu. Due to the Chinese government's policies, Baidu as the controlling company of Jidu, cannot obtain the qualification to manufacture cars. The purpose of establishment of Ji Yue was to turn Geely as the controlling company to solve the restriction of car manufacture qualification. Jidu Auto now operate as a technology solution company that focus on product design, product engineering, as well as development of AI driving and advance user interface technology for all Ji Yue vehicles.
With the new Ji Yue brand, the previous Jidu Robo-01 was renamed as Ji Yue 01. The Ji Yue brand inherited the brand logo created by Jidu Auto. [12] [13]
Current Ji Yue vehicles are manufactured and assembled at Hangzhou Bay in Ningbo, where Geely's headquarter and several Geely plants are located. [14]
Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co., Ltd. (ZGH), commonly known as Geely, is a Chinese multinational automotive company, headquartered in Hangzhou, Zhejiang. The company is privately owned by Chinese entrepreneur Li Shufu. It was founded in 1986 and entered the automotive industry in 1997 with its subsidiary Geely Auto. As of 2023, the company ranks 225 in the 2023 Fortune Global 500 list of the world's largest companies.
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Aeolus is an automobile brand owned by the Chinese automaker Dongfeng Passenger Vehicle Company, a division of Dongfeng Motor Group. The brand was launched in July 2009 using the Fengshen name, and was later renamed to Aeolus as the English name, while the Chinese name remained the same.
Weltmeister is a Chinese electric car brand owned by WM Motor Technology Co Ltd, a Shanghai-based automotive company which specialises in the creation of battery electric vehicles (BEVs). It launched its first production car, the EX5 in May 2018 at the Beijing Auto Show, with deliveries starting in September 2018. WM investors include Chinese technology companies Baidu and Tencent. Weltmeister vehicles are manufactured at WM Motor's manufacturing facility in Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province, which has an annual capacity of 100,000 units. WM Motor also maintains R&D facilities in China, Germany and the United States. In October 2023, WM Motor filed for pre-restructuring as the company struggled for cash.
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