Pininfarina & Baidu unveil an autonomous battery semi

The never-released Tesla Semi already has a capable rival coming up: Italian coachbuilder Pininfarina and Chinese IT giant Baidu have come up with a semi concept under Baidu’s Deepway branding. The vehicle sports an unusual exterior and offers up to 300 km (186 miles) of fully autonomous range.

The cab looks quite innovative with abundant glass and an aerodynamic shape. The developer team promises an extremely low drag ratio also thanks to special front fender extensions and closed rear wheel wells.

The driver’s cockpit resembles that of a passenger car. There is a dual-spoke steering wheel, a heads-up display, a giant dashboard screen spanning its entire width, and – unexpectedly enough – a rear sofa. Dash gauges can be projected only nearly any convenient surface, including the ceiling where the roof meets the windshield. Side panels are another valid option. As for touch panels, they are even present on the door handles.

Technical parameters remain largely undisclosed. The semi can haul up to 49 metric tons (108,000 lbs), while its 450kWh traction battery grants it up to 300 km (186 miles) of range on a charge. Charging up from zero to 100% full takes just one hour, Baidu claims, adding that you can as well swap the battery unit for a fresh one within six minutes.

The self-driving system on board uses an infrared detector, a LiDAR, five millimeter-range radars, and 11 cameras.

Whether the concept ever makes it into actual production remains a valid question.