Baidu’s Robotaxi Rides Match Waymo’s Volume at 250,000 Weekly

BEIJING — Baidu’s Apollo Go unit is rapidly scaling up its robotaxi service, achieving a milestone of over 250,000 fully driverless rides per week as of October 31st, according to a company spokesperson. This puts Baidu in direct competition with Google’s Waymo, which last reported similar ride volumes in April.

While Waymo, primarily operating in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Phoenix, declined to provide updated figures, the data underscores the intensified competition between U.S. and Chinese companies in the autonomous driving space. Baidu’s aggressive expansion comes amid a broader technological rivalry between the two nations, particularly in areas like artificial intelligence and electric vehicles.

It’s worth noting the specific timeframe during which Apollo Go achieved the 250,000 rides per week rate wasn’t fully disclosed. However, analysis of Baidu’s Q2 results revealed an average of approximately 169,000 weekly rides, derived from the reported 2.2 million fully driverless robotaxi rides during the quarter.

Apollo Go primarily operates in Wuhan and parts of Beijing, Shanghai, and Shenzhen. The company is also strategically expanding its footprint internationally, with deployments planned or underway in Hong Kong, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and even Switzerland. This global expansion reflects Baidu’s ambition to not just dominate the Chinese market, but also to become a major player in the global autonomous transportation industry.

The regulatory landscape for robotaxis varies significantly across regions. Companies typically must navigate rigorous testing and phased deployments, often with safety drivers initially, before obtaining permission from local authorities to offer fully driverless commercial services. Baidu’s ability to secure these approvals signals a significant level of confidence from regulators in the safety and reliability of its autonomous driving technology.

To date, Apollo Go reports having fulfilled 17 million robotaxi ride orders, with its vehicles accumulating a total of 240 million kilometers (149 million miles) driven, including 140 million fully driverless kilometers. These impressive figures highlight the scale of Baidu’s autonomous driving operations and the vast amounts of real-world data being collected to further refine its AI-powered driving algorithms.

Safety remains a paramount concern for autonomous vehicle development. Apollo Go reports an average of one airbag deployment incident for every 10.1 million kilometers driven, with no major accidents involving human injury or death reported to date. While this statistic provides some reassurance, continued monitoring and improvements in safety performance are crucial for building public trust in self-driving technology.

Investors will be closely watching Baidu’s upcoming Q3 earnings report, scheduled for release on November 18th, for further updates on the performance of Apollo Go and its contribution to the company’s overall financial results. Moreover, Baidu’s annual tech conference in Beijing on November 13th is expected to provide insights into the company’s future technological roadmap and its strategic vision for the autonomous driving market.

Data from rival Chinese robotaxi companies like Pony.ai and WeRide regarding their weekly ride volumes were not immediately available. The rapid advancements and fierce competition within the Chinese autonomous driving industry suggest continuous innovation and further disruption of traditional transportation models in the years to come.