Shanghai seizes chance to showcase future mobility with robo-taxi trials
- Didi Chuxing and AutoX slated to offer self-driving taxi trials in Shanghai
Within months, tourists from across China and the world will be able get a taste of future transport by hailing a robotaxi in Shanghai.
Didi Chuxing, the country’s biggest ride-hailing platform and AutoX, a Chinese autonomous driving start-up, are nearing the launch of self-driving pickup services in the city, the two companies announced on the sidelines of the Shanghai Artificial Intelligence Conference that ended Saturday.
The move comes a little over two years after Google’s self-driving unit Waymo started its pilot program in Phoenix, Arizona, and is expected to mark the first time that robotaxis are deployed in Chinese cities on a large scale.
An initial fleet of 30 Didi self-driving cars will operate within a designated area in Shanghai’s industrial Jiading district “in a few months”, according to Bob Zhang Bo, the firm’s chief technology officer.
The service in northwest Shanghai covers long-distance trips of 10 kilometres and will be offered free-of-charge with the main goal to collect customer feedback, said Zhang, who also heads Didi’s new independent self-driving venture.
