Chinese ride-hailing giant DiDi to set up joint venture with GAC AION to mass produce self-driving EVs

By Kate Yuan

(JW Insights) May 12 -- Chinese ride-hailing giant DiDi and Chinese car maker Guangzhou Automobile Group (GAC Group) agreed to set up a joint venture to mass produce self-driving EVs on May 10. This marks a milestone in the production and operation of L4 autonomous driving EVs, Pandaily reported.

Under the joint project named “AIDI”, DiDi’s autonomous driving unit and GAC’s subsidiary GAC AION will team up to make the vehicles. This joint venture will be the industry’s first in China between an automobile company and an autonomous driving company to push self-driving EVs’ mass production.

Zhang Bo, CTO of DiDi and CEO of DiDi Autonomous Driving, said, “Thanks to the launch of the joint AIDI project, DiDi Autonomous Driving has entered a new phase in mass production. DiDi Autonomous Driving has already made many breakthroughs in self-driving technology and commercialization.”

This announcement also represents the first time that DiDi Autonomous Driving and GAC AION have disclosed any updates regarding their cooperation since forming a strategic partnership in 2021.

The first generation of mass-produced robotaxi will utilize GAC AION’s latest high-end pure electric exclusive platform, and be equipped with DiDi Autonomous Driving’s technology solutions.

The two parties will collaborate to create an advanced L4 self-driving system that caters to passengers’ requirements and delivers a superior riding experience. The initial model is set to be launched in 2025 on DiDi’s shared mobility platform, as part of a comprehensive mixed dispatching system.

GAC AION is one of the earliest Chinese car companies to dig into autonomous driving, and launched a fully self-developed L4 Robotaxi in 2021. DiDi's autonomous driving unit is also one of the earliest Chinese companies to work on L4 autonomous driving. Currently, the team has over 900 staff and owns more than 200 autonomous driving vehicles in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and other cities.

Several ride-hailing platforms, including Amap, T3 Go, SAIC Mobility, and ONTIME have introduced Robotaxi services, which rely on third-party Robotaxi fleets provided by autonomous driving companies like WeRide and Auto X. Baidu Apollo and Pony.ai have developed their own independent Robotaxi ride-hailing platforms. In contrast to these options, DiDi is one of the few ride-hailing platforms that intends to set up its own fleet of Robotaxis, Pandaily reported.