Baidu’s Apollo Go plans to launch robotaxi service in Singapore and Malaysia

Chinese tech company Baidu is gearing up to introduce its Apollo Go robotaxi service in Singapore and Malaysia, looking to penetrate the Southeast Asian market in the near future. This development was disclosed by a source familiar with the matter, as reported by Bloomberg. Apollo Go is currently in the process of engaging with potential partners to tailor business models that suit these specific markets.

The Wall Street Journal provided further insights into this plan, hinting that Apollo Go is eyeing entrance into the Southeast Asian scene by the end of the year, singling out Singapore and Malaysia as the primary targets in the region. Baidu has been a trailblazer in the autonomous driving technology sector since 2013, establishing itself as one of the pioneering Chinese companies in this domain.

With an extensive user base, Apollo Go had garnered over 11 million rides by May, expanding its service reach across 15 different cities, a detail outlined in Baidu’s first-quarter earnings report from the previous month. The global fleet of Apollo Go’s robotaxis has grown to 1,000 vehicles, and Baidu’s CEO Robin Li emphasized during an earnings call in May that they are committed to cementing their position as the foremost robotaxi service provider across the globe.

The company embarked on expanding its services to Dubai and Abu Dhabi in March, followed by road validation tests conducted in Dubai in May. Additionally, Apollo Go secured approval in April to carry out designated passenger tests on public roads in Hong Kong, marking its debut in a right-hand drive market. Recent reports from the Wall Street Journal indicate that Baidu is also contemplating the launch of its robotaxi service in Switzerland, intending to establish a local presence in the region in the ensuing months.

Drawing from a forecast by Goldman Sachs cited in the Wall Street Journal, the autonomous vehicle landscape is anticipated to witness millions of commercial vehicles for shared mobility navigating the global roads by 2030. Noteworthy is the fact that China currently boasts the largest fleet of robotaxis globally, with approximately 1,700 vehicles already in operation. Goldman Sachs underscores the potential growth of the Chinese robotaxi market, projecting an upward trajectory from an estimated $54 million in 2025 to a staggering $47 billion by 2035, attributed to a decline in hardware and algorithm costs, coupled with reduced operational expenses for fleet operators.