Baidu Wins China Capital City's First-Ever Permit to Provide Fully Driverless Ride-hailing Service

Rhea-AI Summary

Baidu has achieved a significant milestone by becoming the first company globally to receive a permit for fully driverless robotaxi services in Beijing. This permits Baidu to deploy a fleet of 10 autonomous vehicles in the Yizhuang Economic Development Zone. As the only operator providing fully driverless ride-hailing in multiple cities across China, including Wuhan and Chongqing, Baidu's Apollo Go service is experiencing rapid growth, delivering over 561,000 rides in Q4 2022 alone. The company holds over 4,600 patents in this field and aims to create the world's largest driverless ride-hailing area in 2023.

Positive

• Baidu is the first company worldwide to receive permits for fully driverless ride-hailing services in a capital city.
• Deployment of 10 fully driverless vehicles in Beijing's Yizhuang Economic Development Zone.
• Apollo Go provided 561,000 rides in Q4 2022, a 162% increase year-over-year.
• Baidu holds over 4,600 patents for autonomous driving, the highest globally.

Negative

• None.

-  Baidu marks a major global milestone in receiving the permit, becoming the first provider of fully driverless robotaxi services in the capital city of any country worldwide, with no human driver or safety operators in the car

-  Baidu is currently the only company to provide fully driverless autonomous ride-hailing services in multiple cities across China, including Beijing, Wuhan, and Chongqing

BEIJING, March 17, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Baidu, Inc. (NASDAQ: BIDU and HKEX: 9888) ("Baidu" or the "Company"), a leading AI company with strong internet foundation, has been granted the first-ever permits to provide fully driverless ride-hailing service in the Chinese capital Beijing. This marks a major milestone worldwide as the first-ever fully driverless fleet deployed in the capital city of any country. Users can now have access to fully driverless robotaxi service in three megacities in China: Beijing, Wuhan and Chongqing.

With the permits, Baidu Apollo will deploy a total of 10 fully driverless vehicles in Beijing Yizhuang Economic Development Zone. Yizhuang is one of the active centers of autonomous driving in China, with Apollo Go, Baidu's autonomous ride-hailing service platform, currently providing an average of more than 20 rides per vehicle per day within the region, surpassing the average ride volume of traditional online ride-hailing services.

According to the Beijing Municipal Government Work Report for 2023, the city plans to expand the Beijing High-Level Automated Demonstration Area (BJHAD), located in the Yizhuang Economic Development Zone, beyond its existing 60 square kilometers area towards an eventual 500 square kilometers. The city is also exploring pathways to operate autonomous driving vehicles bridging the Yizhuang Economic Development Zone and the city's nearby airport, enabling commercial autonomous driving logistics operations serving the wider Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region.

Baidu's success in obtaining government permits to operate fully driverless services across multiple cities in China is rooted in the company's decade-long technical exploration in autonomous driving. As of today, Baidu Apollo continues to lead the global competition in autonomous driving technology and is the only Chinese operator ranked among the leading autonomous driving vendors in the world, according to Guidehouse Insights Leaderboard released in Q1 2023.

Baidu has been developing autonomous driving technology since 2013 and has accumulated more than 50 million kilometers testing mileage on Level 4 autonomous driving. The company currently holds over 4,600 patent families for autonomous driving technology, including the greatest number of high-level autonomous driving patents in the world.

Alongside breakthroughs in receiving government permits, Apollo Go has also witnessed continual milestones in its operation. In the fourth quarter of 2022, Apollo Go provided 561,000 rides to the public, up 162% year over year. The cumulative rides provided to the public by Apollo Go exceeded 2 million by the end of January 2023, ranking Baidu as the world's largest autonomous ride-hailing service provider. Baidu aims to build the world's biggest fully driverless ride-hailing area in 2023.

About Baidu

Founded in 2000, Baidu's mission is to make the complicated world simpler through technology. Baidu is a leading AI company with strong Internet foundation, trading on the NASDAQ under "BIDU" and HKEX under "9888." One Baidu ADS represents eight Class A ordinary shares.

Media Contact

Intlcomm@baidu.com

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SOURCE Baidu, Inc.

FAQ

What milestone did Baidu achieve regarding driverless ride-hailing services?

Baidu became the first company in the world to receive a permit for fully driverless robotaxi services in Beijing.

How many fully driverless vehicles is Baidu deploying in Beijing?

Baidu is deploying a total of 10 fully driverless vehicles in the Yizhuang Economic Development Zone.

What is Apollo Go's significance in the autonomous ride-hailing market?

Apollo Go is the largest autonomous ride-hailing service provider globally, with over 2 million cumulative rides by January 2023.

How many patents does Baidu hold in autonomous driving technology?

Baidu holds over 4,600 patent families related to autonomous driving technology.

What are Baidu's plans regarding driverless ride-hailing in 2023?

Baidu aims to build the world's biggest fully driverless ride-hailing area in 2023.