Baidu wants to bring robotaxi service Apollo Go to Europe

Baidu wants to put its autonomous cabs on the road in Europe in the future, reports the Wall Street Journal, citing sources with insider knowledge. The Chinese internet company is planning to offer its Apollo Go service in Switzerland and Turkey. According to the report, the group is considering founding its own company in Switzerland and is already negotiating with the local transport company PostAuto, a subsidiary of Swiss Post. Tests are expected to begin at the end of the year.

Baidu, originally the operator of a search engine, has been working on the topic of autonomous driving for almost ten years. In 2017, the company initiated the Apollo project to develop the corresponding software and make it available free of charge. Baidu has been allowed to use robotaxis regularly since 2022.

Autonomous cars from China are coming to Europe

In the meantime, however, competition is growing in the country, so Baidu and other players such as Momenta are expanding abroad. Initially, the USA was the target. However, there is now stricter regulation there, which is why the companies are looking at other regions. These include Japan, Singapore, the Middle East and Europe. WeRide, for example, initiated a project in France last year together with Renault and is also active in Switzerland.

Analysts expect robotaxis to be a good business in Europe due to the comparatively high personnel costs for drivers. However, they also point out that regulation in the European Union can be an obstacle. "It will take some time for the safety tests to convince regulators," Kai Wang from Morningstar told the Wall Street Journal.

However, Baidu is not without competition here: PostBus, for example, already tested the use of autonomous buses in 2016. In Hamburg, VW subsidiary Moia plans to launch a service with autonomous shared cabs this year.

(wpl)