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Autonomous vehicles
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Baidu will offer first paid robotaxi service in China next month, letting people hail rides without drivers

  • Baidu will allow people to order autonomous taxis on May 2 in an industrial park in western Beijing
  • Huawei, Didi Chuxing and traditional carmakers are all racing to develop autonomous driving tech in China

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Baidu’s Apollo robotaxi, developed using a Hongqi electric vehicle, in Beijing’s Shougang Park. Baidu will be the first to charge for a robotaxi service in China in May. Photo: EPA-EFE
Che Pan

Baidu will start China’s first paid robotaxi service on May 2 in Beijing’s Shougang Industrial Park, one of the venues for the 2022 Winter Olympics, the company announced on Thursday.

Users of the Apollo Go app will be able to call a robotaxi without a safety driver within the geofenced area. However, the company emphasised that human operators will be able to remotely control the vehicles over 5G in case of an emergency.

Baidu will charge passengers 30 yuan (US$4.60) for a single ride within the park, the company said, and it will give visitors a 40-yuan voucher to visit the Sangaolu Museum in the area. The park, on the western outskirts of the Chinese capital, spans 8.6 kilometres, according to a report from Accenture.

Baidu’s robotaxis are adapted from electric vehicles by Chinese home-grown luxury auto brand Hongqi, owned by state-owned carmaker FAW Group.

Self-driving cars parked at Baidu’s Apollo Park in Yizhuang, a suburb of Beijing, on April 26, 2021. Photo: EPA-EFE
Self-driving cars parked at Baidu’s Apollo Park in Yizhuang, a suburb of Beijing, on April 26, 2021. Photo: EPA-EFE

Many companies are racing to develop their own autonomous driving technologies, with artificial intelligence firms and traditional carmakers investing heavily in the area. Start-ups and tech giants alike have poured into the industry, which is expected to be worth 399 billion yuan (US$61.5 billion) by 2025.

Telecoms equipment giant Huawei Technologies Co said it will invest US$1 billion in researching self-driving and electric car technologies as it seeks new opportunities for growth amid a stuttering smartphone business hampered by US sanctions.

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