Caizhong News Agency, November 26, Apollo Go, an auto driving online car hailing platform owned by Baidu (BIDU), announced that it plans to test run in Hong Kong, and the first phase of the test will be carried out at the airport before the end of this year, first in non busy hours.
According to the Hong Kong media TVB Wireless News, Apollo Go announced yesterday that it had launched the recruitment of "driving AI training specialists" in Hong Kong, which will be its first business landing outside the mainland market, marking an important step for the domestic Robotaxi to expand overseas.
The "Driving AI Training Specialist" recruited this time is mainly responsible for tasks such as data tracking and collection, problem recording and feedback, and emergency handling of autonomous vehicles. Apollo Go said that it would give priority to the recruitment of drivers with experience in taxis, buses and other work to better promote the application and development of automated driving technology in Hong Kong.
The recruitment announcement shows that Apollo Go has high requirements for "driving AI training specialists". Applicants need to hold a valid driver's license for at least 5 years, including more than 3 years of driving experience, and provide a certificate of no criminal record. In addition, applicants need to have good comprehension skills, language organization skills, and problem-solving abilities, and be able to identify vehicle malfunctions and perform simple repairs and replacement parts.
The Transport Department of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government has confirmed that Baidu submitted applications for pilot licenses and certificates for autonomous driving tests last month, which are still under review. The department will strictly monitor and promote the orderly and safe testing of autonomous vehicles in Hong Kong.
According to the Hong Kong Islands District Council document, the first phase of testing will begin before the end of the year and will be conducted during non peak hours. There will be a local driver with over ten years of driving experience on board as a backup operator.
The new regulatory framework for autonomous vehicles in Hong Kong was implemented in March this year. Currently, multiple large-scale autonomous vehicle projects are underway in Hong Kong, with test sections covering public roads and different application scenarios.
Baidu has not yet responded to the above message.
According to Frost& Sullivan predicts that Robotaxi will achieve large-scale commercialization around 2026, and is expected to be widely used globally by 2030. By then, the penetration rate of Robotaxi in China's smart transportation will reach 31.8%, and by 2035 it will reach 69.3%; It is expected that by 2030, the market size of Robotaxi in China and globally will reach 488.8 billion yuan and 834.9 billion yuan respectively.
Baidu's latest financial report shows that in the third quarter of 2024, the number of automatic driving orders provided by Apollo Go was 988000, up 20% year on year. As of October 28, 2024, Apollo Go has provided more than 8 million orders for automated travel services to the public.
In May this year, Apollo Go launched its sixth generation unmanned vehicle, which was equipped with Baidu Apollo's sixth generation intelligent system solution, and the cost of the whole vehicle dropped significantly. At present, the sixth generation autonomous vehicle RT6 has been operated on open roads in many cities in China.
On June 19 of this year, Apollo Go began to provide 100% of all driverless car hailing services in almost the whole of Wuhan, and is expected to achieve balance of revenue and expenditure in Wuhan by the end of 2024, and enter a profit period in 2025. Wuhan is the largest operating city of Apollo Go.
In the third quarter of 2024, the total number of all driverless vehicles of Apollo Go will account for more than 70% of the national total. In October 2024, the proportion of fully autonomous driving orders will further increase to 80%.
On October 31, "Apollo Go" officially established a new company in Chongqing - Radish Yunli (Chongqing) Technology Co., Ltd. The legal representative is Bi Ran, with a registered capital of 5 million yuan, which is 100% owned by Radish Yunli (Beijing) Technology Co., Ltd., while Radish Yunli (Beijing) Technology Co., Ltd. is 50% owned by Li Zhenyu, senior vice president of Baidu Group, and Shang Guobin, vice president of Baidu Group.
Baidu has launched fully autonomous driving services and testing in Wuhan, Beijing, Wuhan, Chongqing, Shenzhen, and Shanghai. At the third quarter financial report performance meeting, Robin Lee, the founder and CEO of Baidu, highlighted that he would continue to explore in Wuhan and Chongqing, mainly adopting the asset light strategy, so as to make the operation more flexible and effective.