Baidu’s robotaxi unit plans Europe expansion

BEIJING — Chinese tech company Baidu‘s Apollo Go robotaxi business plans to expand to Europe this year, according to a source familiar with the matter.

Over the coming months, Apollo Go plans to open an entity in Switzerland and launch operations locally and in Turkey, said the source, who could only comment anonymously because of the sensitivity of the matter.

Baidu declined to comment when contacted by CNBC.

The company’s Apollo Go robotaxi unit operates fully driverless taxis for the public, including in a suburb of Beijing and in other cities in China. Fares are typically subsidized.

In March, Apollo Go announced it plans to expand to Dubai and Abu Dhabi. Last week the company said it was carrying out its testing in Hong Kong.

Local regulators in China have typically allowed robotaxis to operate fully autonomously after they have gone through several stages of testing, with and without safety drivers inside.

Rival robotaxi operator Pony.AI said earlier this month that it had entered a strategic partnership with Uber to launch the company’s vehicles on the U.S. company’s platform, with plans to also gain a presence in the Middle East later this year.