Chinese search engine behemoth Baidu is looking to diversify its portfolio. The company announced on Friday that it is looking to start mass producing self-driving cars in five years' time period.

The company is currently testing its models on public roads in China and plans to test-drive the cars in 10 different Chinese cities in order to review various factors such as driving conditions, roads and weather.

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Speaking at The Wall Street Journal's Converge technology conference, the company Senior Vice President Wang Jing said that the autonomous cars market is big enough for multiple players, which includes Google, who is expected to commercialize self-driving cars by 2020.

"The market right now is very early so it's big enough for many players. I don't think anyone can dominate this area," he added.

Baidu is currently carrying out tests on public roads in Beijing and tests are also underway in Wuhu, which is located in the southeastern Anhui province of China, as well as in shanghai, where the cars are being tested in a closed testing area.

The Beijing-based company is more interested in the software capabilities of such cars, instead of producing the actual physical vehicles and will be collaborating with various Chinese carmakers for this purpose.

The tech giant also plans to develop autonomous shuttles for China by 2018. However, the shuttle is likely to have limited routes in the beginning.

Baidu is among a handful of startups and automobile manufacturers who are developing driver-less cars. However, one of the biggest obstacles these players will face is laws and policies that will be set in place in order to regulate the presence of autonomous cars on roads.

For instance, in December, California proposed draft rules putting a ban on the use of cars that do not have a steering wheel or a brake pedal.

TagsBaidu, Google, Baidu self-driving cars, Self-Driving Car, Autonomous Cars, china, 2021