Uber and Baidu start global revolution: autonomous taxis come!

Uber and Baidu start global revolution: autonomous taxis come!

The future of mobility is facing a major upheaval: Uber and Baidu have teamed up to introduce thousands of autonomous vehicles worldwide. This exciting cooperation will not only expand the range of affordable carpools, but will also boost the market for self -driving taxis. According to Engadget Planning the two companies, baidus To provide innovative Apollo go-to-go vehicles in various regions via the Uber platform.

The first steps are already in sight, because the common missions are to begin in Asia and the Middle East this year. For users there could soon be the opportunity to get them picked up with an Apollo go vehicle. Just book your trip via the app - it can be that simple! Due to the close connection of Uber's extensive Ride-hailing network with Baidus impressive fleet of over 1,000 completely autonomous vehicles, the industry could be lifted to a new level, such as the Strait Times .

The global roll-out

The partnership between Uber and Baidu is a strategic masterpiece. Baidu launched his Apollo GO services in several large Chinese cities such as Beijing, Guangzhou and Shanghai in 2022. And with success! By May 2023, the platform had already reached over 11 million trips. In the coming months, she now wants to expand her presence globally, whereby the focus is on markets outside the United States, since these are associated with stricter regulation for Chinese companies. The first rollouts are planned for the end of 2025 in Asia and the Middle East. This shows that the urge for global expansion in the robotaxi industry is increasing significantly, which further changes the competitive landscape.

The context of autonomous vehicles

But what does the future of autonomous vehicles actually bring? The vision of this technology is anything but new and has existed for many years. Countries like the USA and China are pioneers in this development. There are currently 44 active autonomous vehicles in the USA, and experts predict a continuous increase until 2035, although the majority of the vehicles sold will not yet be autonomous. The technical implementation takes place gradually, with the five SAE levels playing a central role since 2014.

While assisted driving is already widespread, with technologies such as cruise control and lane keeping assistants, many manufacturers are really active in testing vehicles at SAE level 4-highly autonomous driving. However, driverless cars are likely to wait a few more years before they become normal on our streets, as Statista summarizes. Consumers show skepticism, but in Germany in particular there is a remarkable openness to autonomous vehicle technologies. Security and regulation are central issues that need to be observed not only in Germany, but worldwide.