Chinese Companies Advance Robotaxi Trials in Urban Areas
In Beijing's Yizhuang district, autonomous vehicles have become a frequent presence. Robotaxis navigate traffic alongside conventional cars, while driverless delivery vans transport packages to designated collection points.
The district serves as a key testing ground for autonomous driving technologies, with firms such as Baidu, WeRide, and Pony.ai operating commercial robotaxi services within specified zones.
Booking a ride involves simply using an app. Within minutes, a driverless vehicle arrives. Passengers confirm their trip on a touchscreen, after which the robotaxi merges into Beijing's dense traffic, skillfully maneuvering around buses, cyclists, scooters, and pedestrians.
The technology remains under development. However, a significant question arises: can Chinese companies replicate their global dominance in electric vehicles (EVs) within the emerging robotaxi sector?
Riding China's EV Boom
China's autonomous driving firms benefit from a robust industrial ecosystem that propelled the nation to become the world's largest EV market.
Unlike Tesla, which develops much of its technology internally, China's self-driving industry relies on a network of companies. Established automakers such as BYD, Chery, Geely, and SAIC manufacture vehicles, while specialized firms focus on software development.
Autonomous vehicles utilize many components common to electric cars, including batteries, sensors, chips, and onboard computers.
Because these supply chains operate at vast scale, companies can innovate more rapidly and cost-effectively.
"What you see is a pace of innovation and adaptation in the Chinese EV industry that I don't think is matched anywhere else around the world," says Kyle Chan, a foreign policy fellow at the Brookings Institution.
"China's EV capacity doesn't just stop there. It actually spills over into other related industries through something that I call these overlapping tech industrial ecosystems."
New Productive Forces
Government policies have also contributed. Pilot programs in multiple cities permit companies to test autonomous driving technology on certain public roads.
Additionally, China offers complex driving environments that challenge and improve the technology. A single trip in Beijing requires autonomous vehicles to navigate buses, scooters, cyclists, pedestrians, and unpredictable traffic patterns.
"The traffic environment here in China is very complex," Maeve Zhang, chief marketing officer at WeRide, told the BBC.
This variety of road users generates extensive data to enhance software capabilities.
While driving data from China is valuable, diverse conditions abroad may slow rapid international expansion.
"In the Middle East, the temperature is very high. In South East Asia, there is heavy rain... and in Switzerland, winter temperatures can be very, very low," says Zhang.
Extreme temperatures can impair battery performance, while heavy rain, snow, and fog interfere with the cameras and sensors autonomous vehicles depend on.
Robotaxis represent only one facet of China's autonomous driving ambitions.
QCraft applies its autonomous software to passenger cars, autonomous buses, and delivery vehicles. Its buses operate in over 20 Chinese cities, with plans for overseas expansion.
"It's very promising on the technology side that maybe the next five, seven, at most 10 years, it will get into everybody's life," says James Yu, QCraft's chairman and chief executive.
The Waymo Benchmark
Chinese companies are expanding internationally at a rapid pace. Their primary commercial competitors are based in the United States.
Waymo, Alphabet's robotaxi division, leads commercially, operating paid driverless services in several US cities. Amazon-owned Zoox and Tesla are expanding more cautiously, while Uber has ceased developing its own autonomous vehicles following a fatal 2018 accident.
Uber and its ride-hailing competitor Lyft now collaborate with Chinese firms.
"That gives them automatic 'access to millions of customers that they wouldn't have if they created their own app,'" says Tu Le, founder of consultancy Sino Auto Insights.
"Through these partnerships, they're able to commercialise and broaden their scope."
Although Chinese companies benefit from low manufacturing costs, Waymo has invested years in refining customer service and app technology.
"Having experienced Waymo and the WeRides and the Ponys... I would have to say the user experience for Waymo is much better than all the other competitors. I feel like Waymo is really becoming a standard mode of transportation for California," says Tu Le.
Perceptions vary across markets.
In the US, labor unions have expressed concern that robotaxis could displace taxi, delivery, and freight drivers.
Chinese policymakers promote automation as a solution to the country's shrinking workforce, though government censorship complicates assessment of public opinion.
President Xi Jinping has endorsed AI and robotics as part of China's strategy to develop "new quality productive forces" that will generate jobs and stimulate economic growth.
Consequently, companies have incentives to invest in and expand autonomous driving technologies.
"If we can bring the cost down for a robotaxi ride so that it's as cheap - or maybe even cheaper - than hailing an Uber with a normal driver, then it really helps broaden mobility," Le says. "Elderly folks, folks that are disabled - these robotaxis really allow them a lot more ability to travel."
Safety Concerns and Challenges
Despite progress, safety concerns persist.
Earlier this year, Baidu's Apollo Go service experienced a software malfunction that stranded approximately 100 robotaxis in Wuhan.
Some passengers reported being unable to exit vehicles due to automatic door locks.
Services were suspended for several weeks, though Baidu maintains plans to launch in the UK later this year.
This incident underscored how technical failures can quickly erode public trust.
Similar challenges have arisen elsewhere. GM discontinued its robotaxi division Cruise to focus on autonomous personal vehicles.
California regulators suspended Cruise's permit following a 2023 crash where a robotaxi dragged a pedestrian several meters after being struck by another vehicle.
These factors contribute to analysts' views that robotaxis will be more difficult to export than electric vehicles.
Operating robotaxis involves more complexity than traditional car manufacturing or ride-hailing platforms, including regulatory approvals, detailed mapping, local operational teams, and public acceptance.
Even domestic brands have faced difficulties in the US market.
Geopolitical challenges may also increase. Unlike EVs, robotaxis generate extensive mapping, camera, and location data, raising national security concerns in foreign markets.
Nevertheless, WeRide reports increasing regulatory openness toward autonomous driving.
"We see very positive attitudes and very good policies and regulations coming out from governments both here in China and in some other international markets," Zhang says.
For Kyle Chan, robotaxis symbolize a broader ambition.
"China is trying to create this sort of high-tech economy that's digitally connected, that's AI-powered, and that builds on its existing strengths today in batteries, EVs, motors and other related technology."
Additional reporting by Jaltson Akkanath Chummar
