BEIJING, Nov. 24, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Baidu received the approval for commercial
operation of its autonomous car service in Beijing on Thursday, as the company's
Apollo Go, known as Luobo Kuaipao in China, was authorized to provide paid service
in China's first-ever
demonstration zone for commercial autonomous driving. With the
service's first-ever commercial deployment on open roads, Apollo Go
marks a further step in its accelerating progress towards
large-scale commercial operation.
The autonomous vehicle commercial permit granted by the head
office of the Beijing High-level Automated Driving Demonstration
Area (BJHAD) today allows Baidu to charge fees for autonomous
services offered to the public in a
designated area. Baidu was among the first service providers
to receive such authorization. The issuing of the permits signifies
that the development of autonomous driving in China has completed the testing stage to begin
wider commercial exploration.
Covering an area of 60 square kilometers in the Beijing Economic
and Technological Development Zone, the service provided by Baidu's
Apollo Go includes over 600 pick-up and drop-off points in both
commercial and residential areas. Covering a total of 350
kilometers of roads, the service is available every day of the week
from 7am to 10pm. By using the Apollo
Go App, qualified users can locate one of a total of 67 autonomous
cars in the vicinity and hail a ride by themselves.
With the successful trial operation of Baidu's Apollo Go
commercial service, both the number of autonomous cars and the area
of operation are due to expand further to meet the needs of local
commuters, setting a foundation for the wider and more rapid
development of commercialized autonomous driving within
China.
Baidu's autonomous driving capabilities have continued to make
rapid progress in recent months. In Q3 of 2021, Baidu's Apollo Go
provided 115,000 rides, making Baidu the world leader in the number
of autonomous car service rides provided. As of September 2021, Apollo L4 accumulated over 10
million test miles, an increase of 189% year over year. Baidu has
set an ambitious goal to expand Apollo Go operations into 65 cities
across China by 2025 and 100
cities by 2030.
As autonomous driving technology continues to mature, the
autonomous driving industry likewise is poised to consolidate in
the coming years. As the market develops, the dominant players are
set to cement their leading position. In September 2021, IHS Markit released its
Outlook of China's Autonomous
Driving Market and MaaS Market, forecasting that the size of
the autonomous car service market will exceed RMB1.3 trillion, with the top-ranked service
provider accounting for 40% of the market share.
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.
intlcomm@baidu.com
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SOURCE Baidu, Inc.