- Published on July 10, 2024
- In Global Tech
Baidu Clocks 6,000 Driverless Rides Per Day in Wuhan, China
“I think we are all at L4 today, and with the government regulations, it's not possible to do L5,” said Helen Pan, the GM of Baidu Apollo.
Image by Nikhil Kumar
- By Vandana Nair
Baidu is clearly the darling of autonomous giants. A few months ago, Tesla chief Elon Musk visited China, the second largest market for the company, to release FSD (full-self driving) robotaxis in the region later this year.
However, this was made possible only through a partnership with Baidu's Apollo, which is already slaying in the autonomous segment with its fleet of robotaxis making it the largest autonomous ride-hailing service in the world.
Baidu’s robotaxis are currently available in four cities in China, including Wuhan, Beijing, Shanghai and Chongqing. In Wuhan alone, it caters to a population of seven to eight million covering an area of 3000 sq km.
“Here [Wuhan], we have 6000 driverless rides per day. So, all of them combined together is quite a big achievement,” said Helen K Pan, general manager and board of directors for Baidu Apollo, California, in an exclusive interaction with AIM.
Though robotaxis currently operate in only four cities, t
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Vandana Nair
As a rare blend of engineering, MBA, and journalism degree, Vandana Nair brings a unique combination of technical know-how, business acumen, and storytelling skills to the table. Her insatiable curiosity for all things startups, businesses, and AI technologies ensures that there's always a fresh and insightful perspective to her reporting. She now hosts her tech segment 'Point Break' on AIM Tv.
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