Baidu to attack with autonomous robo-taxi soon

Baidu to attack with autonomous robo-taxi soon

Beijing, 7/22/2022

Chinese technology company Baidu has unveiled a new autonomous vehicle it plans to deploy in China as a robo-taxi service, The electric Apollo RT6 has Level 4 self-driving capabilities and a removable steering wheel that can be removed in fully autonomous mode.

Baidu states that the cost of the new model is 250,000 yuan ($37,000), a decrease from 480,000 yuan ($71,000) for the previous generation. The cost reduction will allow Baidu to deploy „tens of thousands“ of the AVs in China, according to CEO Robin Li.

Beijing recently granted Baidu’s Apollo Go robotaxi company permission to remove safety drivers from the driver’s seat on public roads in the city. The robotaxi service has operated more than 1 million robotaxis in 10 Chinese cities since 2020.

The Beijing-based company started as a search engine tool and has expanded into self-driving systems, cloud services and AI chips in recent years.