As the global race toward autonomous mobility accelerates, few names have made as much measurable progress as Baidu’s Apollo Go. From bustling megacities in China to pilot programs in Europe and the Middle East, Apollo Go is redefining what “driverless” really means—moving beyond test tracks to deliver millions of real-world rides with zero serious accidents.
Now operating 24/7 across 16 cities and expanding internationally through partnerships with Uber, Lyft, and Switzerland’s PostAuto, Apollo Go has become a benchmark for large-scale, commercially viable Level 4 autonomy.
Self Drive News recently connected with the Apollo Go team to discuss their breakthroughs in technology, safety, and sustainability—and what it really takes to make fully driverless ride-hailing a trusted reality worldwide.
For readers new to Apollo Go—who are you?
We’re Baidu’s Level 4 autonomous ride-hailing service. Since 2013, we’ve grown to 1,000+ vehicles, delivered 14 million+ public rides, and logged 200 million autonomous kilometers. We now operate 24/7 across 16 cities including Beijing, Wuhan, Shanghai, Shenzhen—and beyond mainland China in places like Hong Kong, Abu Dhabi, and Dubai.
What unique value do you bring to the market?
We pair cutting-edge autonomous driving with Baidu’s mapping, AI, and a foundation model we call ADFM—built to support Level 4 autonomy. Our edge is tight integration across vehicle engineering, intelligent dispatch, voice interaction, and user-centric operations. And safety comes first: across our accumulated mileage, we report zero serious accidents.
Who else is in this space, and how do you differ?
Waymo and others are important peers moving the industry forward. Both Waymo and Apollo Go run large fleets and deliver commercial service at city scale. Our differentiation: we train in China’s highly complex urban environments, which accelerates learning for dense traffic, diverse road users, and extreme conditions. Commercially, we’re the first globally to reach unit-economics breakeven for fully driverless service in a single city.
What recent milestones stand out?
A major one is our partnership with PostAuto in Switzerland to deliver driverless rides by 2027 in Eastern Switzerland. The program is supported by Swiss federal and cantonal authorities and mobility partners, and is designed to supplement public transport—especially where last-mile coverage and service frequency are challenges.
Why Switzerland—and what problem are you solving there?
Swiss residents rely heavily on public transport, but remote Alpine towns often face last-mile gaps and limited service at night or on weekends. On-demand autonomous shuttles can improve access, reduce dependence on private cars, and lower the marginal cost per trip—while zero-emission, low-noise vehicles support environmental goals in sensitive areas and car-free towns.
What global “firsts” are you most proud of?
Three in particular:
- Positive unit economics for fully driverless service in a single city.
- 24/7 driverless operations in a city of 9+ million residents.
- Cross-continent expansion, including public-road testing outside mainland China and partnerships with Uber, Lyft, and PostAuto to scale in Asia, the Middle East, and Europe.
What enables this progress—what’s the competitive edge?
Openness to partner across the ecosystem; our ADFM foundation model combining rule-based and learning-based approaches; high-quality data from complex road environments; and purpose-built vehicles like the RT6, engineered for autonomous operation to improve safety, comfort, and cost efficiency.
What’s one thing readers might not know?
A driverless car is tested under 100+ safety scenarios before it ever carries riders—far more than a human driver experiences during licensing. And our RT6’s steering wheel is designed to be detachable—it’s largely for current compliance, not necessity.
Biggest challenges ahead—and your plan to overcome them?
Policy differences, infrastructure maturity, and technology generalization top the list. Safety is central: even if we’re vastly safer than human drivers, eliminating risk entirely isn’t possible—so we invest to push risk as close to zero as technology allows. Scaling globally means adapting to local regulations, habits, and climates—from Hong Kong’s narrow right-hand roads to 45°C summers in Dubai. We address this through local partnerships, real-world testing, local hiring, and continuous improvement.
Your long-term goal in a sentence?
Make mobility safer, more accessible, and more sustainable—everywhere. We aim to help prevent the vast majority of crashes caused by human error and bring fully driverless mobility to more cities with trusted partners.
Leave us with a tagline.
“Make cars smarter, make travel easier—safety first.” That principle has guided our 12-year journey, from the first line of code to every driverless mile.
Editor’s note: Apollo Go also reports that it is the first and only operator to achieve unit-economics breakeven, with global operations across 16 cities and 24/7 driverless service in a megacity—indicators of both scale and commercial viability in L4 ride-hailing.
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