- Figures released by Baidu on Thursday show, according to CNBC calculations, that the number of publicly operated robotaxi rides increased by 26 percent in the first half of the year compared to the previous year.
- This is a significant decline from the year-on-year growth of 184% in the first half of 2023.
- With growth of over 20%, the increase in robotaxi rides is still faster than ride-hailing, but to a much lesser extent.
BEIJING – Chinese technology company Baidu reports slower growth in its Apollo Go robotaxi rides than in previous quarters.
Figures released by Baidu on Thursday show that the number of publicly operated robotaxi rides rose 26 percent in the first half of the year compared to the same period last year, to a monthly average of 287,500 rides, according to calculations by CNBC.
This is a significant decline from year-on-year growth of 184% in the first half of 2023, with a monthly average of 229,000 trips.
Some of the cars still require a safety driver and are not fully autonomous.
Baidu is one of the largest operators of robot taxis for public transport in China. In parts of Beijing and cities such as Wuhan – Apollo Go’s largest area of operation – regulators have allowed the companies to charge fares.
Apollo Go has completed a total of 7 million rides as of July 28, Baidu said Thursday, up from 6 million on April 19. The company first crossed the 1 million mark two years ago in July 2022.
In almost all parts of Wuhan, Baidu’s “Apollo Go” robot taxis are now fully autonomous and operate without security personnel on board, Baidu CEO Robin Li said in a conference call on quarterly results on Thursday, according to a transcript from FactSet.
“This has a significant impact on costs,” he said.
A surge in interest in the robotaxis in Wuhan in early July coincided with a rapid increase in the number of people turning to ride-sharing services, raising concerns about the impact of automation on employment.
Apollo Go only has about 1 percent of the ride-sharing market in Wuhan, Li said. “Scaling will be a gradual process and could take many years.”
He described the local fleet as around 400 robotaxis, but did not reiterate longer-term goals.
Baidu had previously stated that there were over 500 robot taxis in operation in Wuhan and that it planned to increase this number to 1,000 by the end of the year.
A tiny fraction of ride-sharing services
The company completed about 336,000 Apollo Go rides in China last month (as of July 28), CNBC calculations show. That’s about 23% above the monthly average in the third quarter of 2023.
With growth of over 20%, the increase in robotaxi rides is still faster than ride-hailing, but to a much lesser extent.
Didi said earlier this week that gross transaction value in China rose 8.7 percent year-on-year in the three months ended June 30, but the average number of daily transactions hit a record 33 million.
“Despite these milestones, our share of the overall ride-hailing market is very small,” Baidu’s Li said. “It will take many years for us to achieve a significant market share in China or anywhere else.”
