Baidu is looking to race ahead of its rivals in autonomous driving , announcing that its first production model, powered by Nvidia chips, will have a high level of automation and deliveries will start next year. The Chinese search engine and artificial intelligence firm said on Thursday that the electric vehicle (EV) being developed by its carmaking arm, Jidu Automotive , will have level 4 (L4) autonomous driving capability, which means these cars do not require human interaction in most circumstances. Analysts said that Baidu’s announcement was meant to signal to Chinese drivers that its vehicles will probably be the...