CATL and Baidu team up to develop self-driving vehicles, battery swap tech

Chinese tech giant Baidu and battery leader CATL have announced a strategic collaboration to advance autonomous driving technologies as competition in the sector accelerates.

In a joint statement released via WeChat, the companies confirmed a new agreement focusing on two key areas: autonomous driving and digitalization. The partnership aims to expand self-driving services across China.

CATL will contribute its expertise in battery systems, charging infrastructure, and energy solutions to support autonomous mobility, while Baidu will integrate its artificial intelligence capabilities to enhance CATL’s operations.

The deal comes as China’s automotive market sees intensifying competition in the self-driving space, highlighted by BYD’s recent debut of its own driver-assistance technology for mainstream vehicles earlier this month.

Baidu is a major force in China’s robotaxi landscape, competing with companies like Pony.ai and WeRide. Its Apollo Go unit currently operates a fleet of 400 fully autonomous taxis in Wuhan, marking the largest such deployment in the country.

The collaboration could help Baidu expand its robotaxi services in the coming year.

With large-scale commercialization of robotaxis on the horizon, analysts at Daiwa project that by 2026, the market for autonomous vehicle manufacturing and related components could reach 160 billion yuan (approximately $22 billion). Ultimately, they predict that robotaxis could replace conventional ride-hailing services entirely.