Softbank, Baidu units tie up to bring autonomous buses to Japan

A subsidiary of SoftBank Group Corp. and a Japan unit of China's internet search giant Baidu Inc. said Wednesday they have tied up to tap into the Japanese self-driving bus market. Under the agreement, 10 electric minibuses, called Apolong, developed by Baidu and China's Xiamen King Long United Automotive Industry Co., will be shipped to Japan by early next year. The Softbank subsidiary, SB Drive Corp., said they aim to introduce the buses on Japanese public roads and plan to carry out technology demonstration experiments in the current fiscal year ending next March. SB Drive, set up in April 2016, has already been testing self-driving buses in Japan. The Japanese company last year conducted government-sponsored tests in Okinawa.