​Geely Holding and Baidu launch new AI-powered EV

The joint venture between Chinese carmaker Geely Holding Group and tech heavyweight Baidu Inc has launched its first artificial intelligence-powered electric vehicle called Ji Yue 01.

Priced from 249,900 yuan ($34,151.8), the sports utility vehicle features level 4 (L4) autonomous driving technology, a voice-activated control system and advanced intelligent cabins. L4 autonomy means the car can drive itself in most conditions without a human driver.

It integrates Ernie Bot, Baidu's ChatGPT-like large language model, to offer AI interactive experience for intelligent vehicles. The car can go as far as 720 kilometers on a single charge.

Baidu and Geely set up a joint venture called Jidu Auto in March 2021 to focus on developing intelligent electric vehicles. The two companies announced a significant advancement in their strategic partnership in August, marking a new milestone with the introduction of Ji Yue, a premium intelligent technology brand.

Sales of NEVs in the country expanded 27.7 percent year-on-year to 904,000 units in September, data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers showed. In the first nine months of the year, NEV sales increased 37.5 percent from a year ago to 6.28 million units, the CAAM said.