Baidu got approval to charge fares for its robotaxi rides within the Beijing suburb of Yizhuang in November 2021.
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BEIJING — Chinese tech company Baidu said its robotaxi business in large cities is near gaining the identical traction with locals as traditional ride-hailing services.
Through the third quarter, each of Baidu’s self-driving taxis accomplished a mean of greater than 15 rides a day in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, CEO Robin Li said Tuesday, in line with a FactSet transcript of the earnings call.
“In accordance with our knowledge, this number is sort of near the typical day by day rides for traditional ride-hailing services,” Li said. He didn’t share what number of cars were in each local fleet.
For comparison, trips per lively vehicle on ride-hailing apps in Latest York City averaged about 12 a day in September, in line with the latest available municipal data.
In Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, Baidu’s robotaxis — branded Apollo Go — can only operate in certain suburban areas.
The corporate didn’t say whether it could charge fares for its robotaxi rides in Guangzhou or Shanghai.
About 12 months ago, Baidu gained Beijing city’s approval to start out charging fares for robotaxi rides within the district of Yizhuang, about half an hour’s drive from the middle of the capital city.
Those rides still require a human staff member to take a seat within the automotive.
Nevertheless, this week Baidu said it obtained approval from local Beijing authorities to check 10 robotaxis with none human staff within the front row.
Pony.ai, a start-up that also operates a robotaxi business, said it obtained similar approval.
Each firms’ robotaxi rides in Beijing’s Yizhuang district remain heavily subsidized. A CNBC check of each Apollo Go and Pony.ai apps Wednesday found a reduction of greater than 80% was applied.
Baidu has robotaxi operations in lots of cities in China, and may charge for fares in not less than seven, in line with the corporate.
Total robotaxi trips within the third quarter climbed by greater than 300% from a 12 months ago to greater than 474,000 rides, the corporate said Tuesday.
When asked in the course of the earnings call when Apollo Go would break even, the corporate said it believed the robotaxi will eventually be profitable and cheaper than current ride-hailing services, and that the impact of to Baidu’s overall profit and loss and money flow is “manageable.”
