Drone Maker DJI Supplies Smart Driving System to SAIC-GM-Wuling

What’s new: General Motors Co.’s China venture SAIC-GM-Wuling will soon launch its first new-energy vehicle (NEV) equipped with drone maker DJI’s in-vehicle system.

The system will be installed in the KiWi EV, an electric mini-car launched by SAIC-GM-Wuling’s Baojun brand in August 2021. DJI’s in-vehicle system will make for an upgraded model equipped with autonomous driving assistance functions, including lane keeping and changing and traffic jam handling, the companies said.

The cooperation between DJI and SAIC-GM-Wuling began in 2019, and more than 1 million kilometers of road tests have been completed in more than two years, the companies said.

The background: DJI launched its automotive business in 2016 and began testing intelligent driving systems on public roads in 2018. The automotive team grew to nearly 1,000 employees by the end of 2021.

China’s new-energy vehicle market is booming, attracting many tech companies to jump in to build cars themselves or develop autonomous driving technologies for automakers.

Since April 2021, Huawei has established partnerships with automakers BAIC BluePark New Energy Technology Co. Ltd., Chongqing Sokon Industry Group Co. Ltd., Chongqing Changan Automobile Co. Ltd. and GAC Group to help them build sub-brands by using Huawei’s autonomous driving technology.

This week, Chinese search engine Baidu’s intelligent electric vehicle startup JIDU officially unveiled its AI-powered robotic EV, called the ROBO-01.

People at DJI said the automotive market is bigger than the drone market, and DJI can leverage its drone technologies, hardware and software development and manufacturing capabilities to expand into the auto market.

Quick Takes are condensed versions of China-related stories for fast news you can use. To read the full story in Chinese, click here.

Contact reporter Denise Jia (huijuanjia@caixin.com) and editor Bob Simison (bob.simison@caixin.com)

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