A partnership that sought to make autonomous vehicles a reality has just fallen. BMW and Chinese search giant Baidu have officially ended their partnership after just two years of collaboration. As a result, Baidu is now on the hunt for a new automaker to partner up with.

The Chinese company has been testing autonomous vehicles in the United States. However, with the collaboration will BMW no longer in play, a new partnership would be needed to help the company ramp up its efforts. Both Baidu and BMW have declined to comment on the situation. The fall out between the two companies is being attributed to the difference in the direction of the research into autonomous vehicles. Additionally, BMW is set to bring self-driving cars to the market by 2021. However, Baidu has set its sights for 2018.

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There was evidence that both companies were not in lockstep in their collaboration efforts. BMW entered partnerships with companies that are developing technology that could be used in autonomous vehicles. Two major companies that BMW has created partnerships with are Intel, and Mobileye, which focuses on collision-avoidance. Despite the fallout, Baidu and BMW will continue to be partners to develop high-definition maps which are important for the navigation of autonomous cars.

The collaboration between BMW and Baidu began in 2014. Baidu senior vice president Wang Jin had promised that the company would deliver a self-driving car with BMW the following year. 

The car never came to fruition, but that did not deter Baidu. The California Department of Motor Vehicles granted the company a vehicle testing permit earlier this year. This bodes well for the company as it is one step closer to making its autonomous vehicles a reality.