(Yicai) April 29 -- Baidu’s stock price surged after the Chinese tech giant reportedly agreed to partner with Tesla on mapping and navigation services in China.

Baidu [HKG: 9888] closed 2.4 percent higher at HKD103.30 (USD13.20) a share in Hong Kong today, after a gain of as much as 7 percent at one point.

A Bloomberg News report said earlier that Tesla will launch its Full Self Driving system in China using Baidu’s navigation and mapping system.

Beijing-based Baidu is one of the Chinese firms offering mapping services for autonomous driving, and the US electric carmaker chose to use Baidu Maps in 2020.   

At the ongoing Beijing Auto Show, Baidu Vice President Shang Guobin discussed the firm’s close partnership with Tesla and said that Baidu Maps’ lane-level navigation system will make its global debut in Tesla models, providing drivers with navigation services that are more real-time, more precise, safer, and more efficient.

Earlier this month, Tesla Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk responded to a query on X about when the carmaker would launch its FSD system in China, saying “very soon.” Yesterday, he made a surprise trip to China to meet with Premier Li Qiang.

Tesla has also become the first foreign carmaker to have met China’s requirements on auto data security. Its China-made Model 3 and Model Y cleared the review carried out by the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, the industry body said yesterday.

Seventy-six vehicle models from Tesla, BYD, Li Auto, Lotus Cars, Hozon New Energy Automobile, and Nio passed the test for the anonymization of external facial information, default non-collection of cockpit data, in-vehicle processing of cockpit data, and prominent notification for handling personal information.

The clearance may allow China-made Teslas to access and park in some restricted areas, such as government campuses, airports, and highways, according to experts. It may also signal the introduction of Tesla’s FSD technology in China.

Reuters reported today that the rollout of FSD in China would enable Tesla to boost its flagging sales, as self-driving tech is well regarded in the Chinese market.

Tesla sold 386,810 vehicles worldwide in the three months ended March 31, less than the 450,000 expected.

Editor: Tom Litting