Chinese bicycle giant Didi Chuxing launches a pilot service for self-propelled robot taxis in Shanghai

Chinese bicycle giant Didi Chuxing launches a pilot service for self-propelled robot taxis in Shanghai

Shanghai, 1.7.2020

Didi’s introduction of the robot axis in Shanghai comes just days after the announcement of plans to deploy more than one million self-propelled vehicles via its platform by 2030.
According to a report by Market Research Future, the global market is estimated to reach 65.3 billion US dollars by 2027.
Commuters in Shanghai can now book self-propelled taxis through Didi Chuxing, after the Chinese passenger-carrying robot giant introduced its on-demand robotic taxi service at the weekend.
With the new app, passengers in the pilot phase of the project have free travel in autonomous vehicles within designated open traffic areas in Shanghai’s Jiading district.
„AI in transportation will undoubtedly revolutionize the safety and efficiency of urban transportation,“ said Cheng Wei, founder and CEO of Didi Chuxing. „Didi’s greatest strengths lie in our numerous use cases, our data capacity and our long-term commitment to what we believe is a clear direction for the future,“ he said.
In addition to mandatory safety drivers in vehicles to assist in emergency situations, Didi has established what is said to be the country’s first security control center for real-time monitoring of vehicle and road conditions and enhanced remote control support. The center is designed to enable it to conduct large-scale autonomous fleet operations in the future, the company said.
However, Cheng said it would take at least a decade of continuous investment before autonomous vehicle technology could reach critical technological, business and regulatory milestones. Until then, human drivers will still be needed.
„Human driving services will be essential to the future mobility network, and as the autonomous industry chain expands, new types of work and careers will emerge,“ Cheng said.
Didi’s launch of the Robotaxi service in Shanghai comes just days after the announcement of plans to deploy more than one million self-propelled vehicles through its platform by 2030. Last month, Japan’s SoftBank raised $500 million in the Didi autonomous driving subsidiary.
The autonomous vehicle industry has attracted billions of dollars in investment in recent years, with major US companies Alphabet, Tesla and General Motors launching high-profile self-propelled vehicle projects. According to a report by Market Research Future, the global market will reach a volume of 65.3 billion US dollars by 2027.
In the Chinese robotic taxi market, Didi faces stiff competition from several local players such as Baidu, Pony.ai, AutoX and WeRide.
Baidu, which developed the Apollo self-propelled platform, has been testing a robot taxi service in parts of Changsha, the capital of Hunan Province, since April.
Alibaba Group and AutoX, a start-up company for autonomous driving, introduced a robotic axle in Shanghai in April, where passengers can order a robotic taxi using Alibaba’s Amap app and AutoNavi from AutoNavi