Baidu Granted Commercial Robo-Taxi License in Shenzen
Chinese digital giant Baidu has been granted a commercial license for its driverless ride-hailing service in parts of Shenzhen, known as the country’s technology center.
Its fleet of driverless robo-taxis, under the brand Apollo Go, will be allowed to operate and collect fares from passengers across an area of 116.82 square miles in the city, Reuters reports. The company first brought self-driving cars to Shenzhen in 2022 but its cars then were not allowed to go on the roads without human supervisors onboard. Its fleet was also prohibited from collecting fares from passengers.
However, the company has obtained licenses from three other Chinese cities including Wuhan, Chongqing and Beijing to offer fully driverless service but is still awaiting a commercial license for in Beijing. Baidu also said it plans to put an additional 200 fully driverless robo-taxis on the road this year.
— Paul Myles is a seasoned automotive journalist based in Europe. Follow him on Twitter @Paulmyles_
