Kevin Frayer
Baidu’s (NASDAQ:BIDU) stock jumped about 10% in Hong Kong on Wednesday after Beijing authorities said on Tuesday that they will support the introduction of robotaxis in ride hailing and car rental fleets in the city, Bloomberg News reported.
In China, Baidu’s operates robotaxi Apollo Go, whose sixth generation was launched in Wuhan in May. The Chinese internet search giant saw its stock climb about 8% on Tuesday and was up about 2% premarket on Wednesday on Nasdaq.
According to the draft guidelines posted by the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Economy and Information Technology, autonomous vehicles should have drivers or safety officers on board, or be able to intercept remotely, while robotaxis are working. It also noted that any traffic breaches should be subject to local laws and rules, the report added.
The draft is open to public opinion for feedback till July 29.
Baidu plans to roll out about 1,000 robotaxis in Wuhan this year, where it already has a number of self-driving vehicles operating. Apollo Go is nearing break-even and expected to achieve balance in the fourth quarter of 2024 and turn profitable by 2025.
Meanwhile, robotaxi fleets in some Chinese cities are already facing backlash. Hundreds of pilot cars in Wuhan operated by Apollo Go have ignited worries related to job losses among taxi drivers. In addition, there have also been complaints from local residents about traffic jams and one car was recently involved in a crash, which is now being probed by the authorities, according to the report.
Tesla (TSLA) is also slated to launch its own robotaxi on Aug. 8. A fully autonomous car which was first touted to investors in 2019. However, it was not known if Tesla’s automated cars will be regarded as “qualified operators” by Beijing once the regulations are finalized and if the cars are released in China, the report added.