GUANGZHOU, China — Baidu has tapped the co-founder of bike-sharing start-up Mobike to be the chief government of its electrical automotive enterprise with Chinese language automaker Geely, a supply with data of the matter instructed CNBC.

Final month, Baidu and Geely formed a strategic partnership to create a standalone electric car company. Baidu is almost all shareholder.

On the search large’s fourth quarter earnings name on Thursday morning in Asia, CEO Robin Li stated the electrical car firm had picked a pacesetter for the enterprise with out disclosing a reputation.

However CNBC has confirmed Xia Yiping, co-founder of Mobike, would be the CEO of the brand new entity, based on the supply who requested anonymity as they weren’t allowed to debate the data publicly.

Baidu declined to remark when contacted by CNBC. Geely stated it was not accustomed to the appointment of Xia. Reuters first reported the information.

Xia beforehand labored at Fiat Chrysler and Ford earlier than he co-founded Mobike, based on his LinkedIn profile. Mobike was a part of China’s increase — and eventual bust — in shared bike start-ups. Mobike was finally acquired by Chinese language meals supply large Meituan in 2018.

On the earnings name, Li revealed that Baidu’s electrical automotive agency hopes to launch its first car inside three years. Li additionally stated a model identify has been chosen however didn’t launch it.

Baidu’s push into electrical autos is an try and diversify its enterprise past simply promoting.

On Wednesday, Baidu reported fourth quarter earnings for 2020 that beat market expectations. Specifically, non-marketing income — which excludes promoting and consists of its cloud and autonomous driving enterprise — grew 52% year-on-year.