Apollo, Baidu's autonomous driving business unit, and Hyundai Kia signed a strategic cooperation agreement on April 19, marking a further step in the former's cooperation with car companies to strengthen its dominant position in the autonomous driving field.

The two parties will accelerate the development and application of cooperation in the intelligent upgrading of vehicles and digital transformation of brands, and promote the implementation of new products based on the GEN1 China OEM platform.

Che Xizhu, chief technology officer of Hyundai China, said Baidu's technological capabilities are recognized by China and the world.

Baidu Apollo, as a bridgehead in an open technology ecosystem, contributes to the technological development of China's automotive and transportation industry, said Che.

Li Zhenyu, vice president and general manager of Baidu's intelligent driving business group, said Apollo will continue to leverage its AI technology to help Hyundai's transformation to intelligence.

Since 2014, Hyundai Kia has reached several cooperation agreements with Baidu, which will create high-quality products and services for Chinese consumers, Li said.

Baidu Apollo said its intelligent cockpit has been installed on more than 600 models of more than 70 car companies, covering more than 1 million mass-produced vehicles.

Previously Li said that in the second half of this year, a new car equipped with Apollo autonomous driving will be launched every month and that the front-mounted mass production installation will reach 1 million units within 3-5 years.

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