Baidu's robotaxi records 660,000 orders in Q1

Baidu's robotaxies are seen running on the roads of the Wuhan Economic & Technological Development Zone (WEDZ). [Photo provided to en.whkfq.gov.cn]

Over the first quarter of this year, Baidu's robotaxi autonomous driving platform received 660,000 orders, a surge of 236 percent, making the company the world's largest autonomous driving service provider.

According to the 2022 annual report on autonomous driving services issued by the firm, the number of active users of the robotaxi autonomous driving platform nearly doubled last year.

By the end of March this year, the platform had received more than 2 million orders, with a satisfaction score of 4.9 points (the total score is 5). About 97.12 percent of the application users gave it the full mark.

Since its trial operation in the Wuhan Economic & Technological Development Zone (WEDZ) in May last year, the robotaxi can now drive on 750 kilometers of roads that cover 530 square kilometers of area in Wuhan. It is able to serve 1.5 million people in the area.

One robotaxi taking a passenger is seen picking up speed on the road in WEDZ. [Photo provided to en.whkfq.gov.cn]

According to Ren Han, a senior staff member at Baidu responsible for unmanned driving, emphasized, “digital infrastructure in the zone has established a strong basis for the seamless operation of the robotaxi.”

Wuhan is currently taking steps to increase the application scenarios of pilotless automobiles, such as at the airport or on the highway. This year, Baidu will reportedly expand its business scale in the field.