Apollo Go is an autonomous ride-hailing service provider (robotaxi) using the Baidu Apollo autonomous driving platform.
 Baidu robotaxi in 2021 | |
| Industry | Robotaxis |
|---|---|
| Website | www |
History
editOn July 20, 2022, the first commercial pilot program for unmanned travel services in China was officially started in Beijing. The first batch of 25 BAIC Arcfox unmanned vehicles were officially approved to carry out regular paid travel services.[1]
On July 21, 2022, Baidu and CCTV News jointly held the 2022 Baidu World Conference with the theme of "Deepening AI, Growing Everything". At the conference, Baidu released the sixth generation of mass-produced unmanned vehicle Apollo RT6. Apollo RT6 was expected to have the ability to drive autonomously on complex urban roads and cost only 250,000 yuan. According to the plan, Apollo RT6 was to be put into use in 2023.[2]
On August 8, 2022, the governments of Chongqing and Wuhan took the lead in issuing a pilot policy for fully autonomous commercial vehicles and issued the first batch of national unmanned demonstration operation qualifications to Baidu, allowing autonomous vehicles without safety drivers to provide commercial services on public roads.[3]
As of July 2024, the scope of the manned test service covered 11 cities, and was expected to carry out fully unmanned autonomous driving travel service tests in Beijing, Wuhan, Chongqing, Shenzhen, and Shanghai. It was expected to fully cover Wuhan by 2024, with plans to put 1,000 sixth-generation mass-produced unmanned vehicles into operation.[4]
On November 29, 2024, the Hong Kong Transport Department stated that Apollo Go had obtained the first pilot license for autonomous vehicles, with the first phase of testing expected to begin before the end of 2024.[5]
On 4 August 2025, Baidu had announced an agreement with Lyft to expand its car-sharing business into Europe. Under this agreement, Baidu will provide self-driving cars to Lyft. The cars will be manufactured by Jiangling Motors and are expected to operate in Germany and Britain starting in 2026.[6]
Technology
editApollo RT6 is based on Baidu's self-developed "Apollo Galaxy" platform. As the first model of this platform, Apollo RT6 has achieved 100% automotive grade[verification needed] with full driving system redundancy. As a purposedly built vehicle, its reliability is higher than that of the modified mass-produced cars. The hardware of Apollo RT6 includes redundancies in the architecture, computing unit, and braking system.[2]
See also
edit- Apolong, a self-driving minibus by the Apollo project
References
editCitations
edit- ^ "百度萝卜快跑获准常态化示范运营". www.zgjtb.com. Archived from the original on 2022-07-21. Retrieved 2022-07-21.
- ^ a b "百度世界2022，第六代量产无人车重磅发布" [Baidu World 2022: The sixth generation of mass-produced autonomous vehicles will be launched] (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 2023-09-21. Retrieved 2022-07-21.
- ^ "百度萝卜快跑将在重庆、武汉提供自动驾驶付费出行服务".
- ^ "萝卜快跑刷屏 自动驾驶迎来规模落地？". 财经网. 2024-07-11. Archived from the original on 2024-07-20. Retrieved 2024-07-12.
- ^ 谭镕 (2024-12-03). "萝卜快跑，拿下香港牌照". 上海证券报. Retrieved 2024-12-08.
- ^ Bradsher 2025.
Sources
edit- Bradsher, Keith (2025-08-04). "Lyft and Baidu in Deal to Use Chinese Driverless Cars in Europe". The New York Times. Retrieved 2025-08-05.
- Daws, Ryan (11 September 2020). "Baidu's Robotaxi Service Apollo Go Hits the Streets of Beijing". Internet of Things News. Retrieved 5 August 2025.
- Huang, Han; Jiang, Yu; Wang, Zicheng; Ma, Wanqi (2025), Perceptions of Driverless Vehicles Among Social Media Influencers in China: A Case Analysis of Apollo Go, Elsevier BV, doi:10.2139/ssrn.5125363
- "China's robotaxis are racing ahead of Tesla's". The Economist. ISSN 0013-0613. Retrieved 2024-07-29.
- Yang, Hong (2025-01-23). "Thoughtfully integrating autonomous taxis into urban mobility". Nature Cities. 2 (1): 4–5. doi:10.1038/s44284-024-00191-w. ISSN 2731-9997. Retrieved 2025-08-05.