Ford and Baidu launch 2-year tie-up for on-road driverless tests

Partners will run fully-autonomous cars on Beijing's public roads

20181031N Baidu and Ford

The Chinese tech giant and Ford, partners on the Apollo program, will test self-driving vehicles in Beijing. (Photo provided by Ford)

SHUNSUKE TABETA, Nikkei staff writer

BEIJING -- Ford Motor and Chinese internet search leader Baidu will start testing driverless vehicles together in China by year-end, they said Wednesday, aiming to achieve the highly autonomous driving technology known as the level 4 in two years.

The partners will run vehicles in areas including Beijing public roads designated for self-driving tests, with an eye to expanding into other Chinese cities later on. The cars will be refined at Ford's research and development hub in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, and fitted with Baidu's automated driving software.

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