Baidu Inc (百度) has won approval to deploy the first fully autonomous self-driving taxis on China’s roads, giving it an edge over rivals such as Pony.ai Inc (小馬智行) and XPeng Inc (小鵬汽車).
The tech giant has secured permits to operate robotaxis in Wuhan and Chongqing, it said in a statement yesterday.
The move marks a relaxation of Chinese rules, which previously mandated someone must be in the vehicle to take control in case of an emergency.
Baidu is to begin to provide fully driverless robotaxi services in designated areas in Wuhan between 9am to 5pm, and Chongqing from 9:30am to 4:30pm, with