Self-driving cars will soon hit the roads in China as online search giant Baidu announced that it will start rolling out driver-less vehicles in the next three years, according to the official Xinhua news agency.

Last week, Baidu successfully completed the test drive of its self-driven vehicle on various roads, prompting the Beijing-based company to schedule mass production within five years.

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The Chinese search engine giant has set up a new business unit to oversee its entry into the country's vast automobile market, which is already the world's biggest.

The new business unit, according to Baidu, will focus on researching and developing technology behind self-driven vehicles and setup industrial chain to support the mass production of self-driving vehicles, which are considered as next-generation cars.

Baidu's senior vice-president and manager of the new business unit, Wang Jin, told the Xinhua news agency that about 80 percent of newly-produced vehicles in 10 years will come with self-driving technologies.

""In the future, vehicles could be self-driven and controlled by smart systems. We have set a target to commercialize our operations in the next three years," Wang added.

China's self-driving car market is valued at tens of millions of dollars, according to Baidu. The entire car-related business, however, is worth billions of dollars.

Baidu is not the only company that seeks to break into the self-driven car industry in China and around the world. Google and Samsung Electronics have already introduced self-driving technologies.

Alibaba Group Holding, the Internet rival of Baidu, and Leshi Internet Co have also teamed up with car makers in China to move into car-related businesses.

Analysts, however, said it will not be easy for self-driven cars to capture a huge chunk of the market. Companies, they said, need to reach breakthroughs in terms of reliability, performance, and cost.

The entire sector requires synergy from technology firms, carmakers, research firms, and regulators, experts said.

TagsBaidu Inc., Baidu Cars, Self-Driving Car, Self-Driven Cars, China cars, cars, Hi-tech Cars