France’s Valeo, Didi’s Self-Driving Unit to Co-Develop Robotaxi Safety Solution
Lu Hanzhi
DATE:  May 31 2023
/ SOURCE:  Yicai
France’s Valeo, Didi’s Self-Driving Unit to Co-Develop Robotaxi Safety Solution France’s Valeo, Didi’s Self-Driving Unit to Co-Develop Robotaxi Safety Solution

(Yicai Global) May 31 -- French auto parts giant Valeo will participate in the latest fundraiser of Chinese ride-hailer Didi Global’s autonomous driving unit and they will join hands in developing an intelligent safety solution for Level-4 self-driving taxis.

Didi Autonomous Driving inked a strategic partnership and investment letter of intent with Valeo yesterday, its Beijing-based parent company said the same day. A source at the French company declined to disclose the value of the investment.

Under their agreement, the pair will set up a joint team to research and develop a safety system for L-4 self-driving in ride-hailing scenarios to ensure that independent sensing kits can control vehicles in the event of a sudden failure of the main autopilot system. It will be equipped first in the Didi unit’s robotaxis, a Didi insider said.

Didi Autonomous Driving is facilitating the large-scale implementation and commercialization of autonomous driving, Chief Operating Officer Meng Xing said, adding that the company’s in-depth strategic partnership with Valeo will help Didi achieve major breakthroughs in the standardization and scale-up of key modules of the self-driving system, and improve the overall system security of the L-4 driverless taxis.

Since May 2020, Didi Autonomous Driving has closed three financing rounds, raising a total of USD1 billion, with a valuation of USD4 billion. SoftBank Group’s affiliated fund, IDG Capital, and Chinese auto giant GAC Group are among the investors.

Earlier this month, Didi Autonomous Driving said it had joined hands with GAC’s new energy vehicle unit GAC Aion New Energy Automobile to set up a joint venture to spur the mass production of L-4 driverless NEVs, which will be included in Didi’s ride-hailing networks by 2025.

Didi Autonomous Driving has more than 200 self-driving cars on the roads in Chinese cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou. It has promoted the mixed use of manned and driverless taxis in specific areas in Shanghai and Guangzhou.

Editor: Tang Shihua, Futura Costaglione

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Keywords:   Automatic Driving Safety System,L4 Level,Ride Hailing Service Provider,AI,Auto Parts,Valeo,Didi