Baidu’s CarLife gains momentum as Audi, VW, GM agree to use it

Baidu’s CarLife.

Baidu, China’s top search engine, today revealed it has persuaded three major automakers to use its in-car software, dubbed CarLife.

The development comes one year after Baidu first revealed CarLife as a China-specific alternative to Apple’s CarPlay or Android Auto. The OS appears on a touchscreen in the car and integrates with either iOS or Android phones for calls and texting, music streaming, and free voice-based navigation from Baidu Maps. CarLife also supports some third-party apps.

Baidu’s new deal will see Audi, General Motors, and Volkswagen using CarLife on its cars for the Chinese market. It’ll be available in certain models only, and there’s no word on when new car buyers will actually see CarLife materialize in showrooms.

Hitting the road

GM and VW are the top two automakers in China, and Audi is the best-selling luxury brand, so the new agreement – announced today at CES 2016 in Las Vegas – is a big boost for Baidu’s automotive ambitions.

Audi R8 E-tron on show in Shanghai.

All this data will be useful to Baidu as it builds systems for autonomous cars.

China’s private car ownership is expected to reach 160 million in 2016, Baidu says, so it’s a huge market that the tech giant doesn’t want to miss out on. Baidu Maps has 300 million monthly active users, of whom about one-third are car owners.

Aside from in-car entertainment and navigation, Baidu is working on other telematics services for cars, such as MyCar, which can monitor data about the car and which “gives drivers notifications for needed vehicle maintenance and optimizes driving routes,” today’s statement explains. (Update: This paragraph was corrected to explain that MyCar is not the same as CarLife.)

All this data will be useful to Baidu as it builds systems for autonomous cars, which it hopes to sell to automakers in the future, as it allows Baidu Maps to gather more information on roads and traffic conditions. Baidu last month showed off its first road-going test mule for its driverless tech.

Baidu has already secured BMW, Mercedes Benz, Ford, Hyundai, and BYD to use the software. BYD is the struggling Chinese automaker backed by Warren Buffet. However, not many models have yet launched with CarLife in them. As Apple and Google can attest, it’s a slow and painful process to get car brands to ditch their own (usually terrible) software.

The first car to go on sale in China with Baidu’s CarLife was the Hyundai Tucson, which hit the local car market back in September.

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