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Baidu will test its self-driving car in the US

Baidu will test its self-driving car in the US

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Chinese search giant Baidu is planning to test its autonomous cars in the United States, with a goal of building a "commercially viable" car by 2018, reports The Wall Street Journal. The firm announced last year that it was looking to develop vehicles that could serve as public shuttles. The company told the Journal that it has a 160-strong office in Sunnyvale, CA, with many employees working on the car project.

In 2014, BMW and Baidu announced a partnership to work on self-driving cars, saying the two companies hoped to launch a car together before the end of 2015. That hasn't happened, but Baidu said last year that it was currently focused more on assisting a driver rather than replacing them entirely.

Just yesterday, a number of executives from companies working on self-driving cars testified in front of a US Senate committee to discuss possible safety regulations and the state of the autonomous car industry. Baidu is one of many working on the cars, but if its cars are ready for testing on American roads, the company would seem to find itself in good company.