Baidu Apollo L4 autonomous cars accumulate over 12 million-km road tests by H1 2021

Shanghai (Gasgoo)- Baidu's Apollo Level 4 autonomous driving cars have driven for over 7.5 million miles (around 12 million kilometers) in road tests by June 2021, which were 152% more than the mileages achieved by the year-ago period, the Chinese Internet giant announced in its Q2 financial results.

Apollo Moon; photo credit: Apollo

Meanwhile, Baidu said Apollo has already obtained 278 licenses for autonomous driving tests, reflecting Apollo's piloting presence in dispersed geographic regions and under wide-ranging testing scenarios.

Other achievements in intelligent driving include the launch of Apollo's 5th-generation robotaxi vehicle, the Apollo Moon, in June. Developed in partnership with BAIC Group's ARCFOX brand, the model is set to be mass-produced with a per unit manufacturing price of 480,000 yuan ($74,120), which were only one third of the cost of average Level 4 autonomous cars, said the company.

At the launch ceremony, Baidu and ARCFOX reached a new strategic cooperation agreement to roll out a fleet of 1,000 Apollo Moon robotaxis in three years.

On July 17, Baidu officially opened its Apollo Go Robotaxi service to the public in Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong province, its fourth city of robotaxi operation following Changsha, Cangzhou, and Beijing.

Baidu plans to roll out Apollo Go ride hailing across 30 cities over the next two to three years, said Robin Li, founder, chairman, and CEO of Baidu.

As for the cooperation with OEMs, Great Wall Motor announced in June that its flagship WEY Mocha SUV will employ Apollo Automated Valet Parking (AVP) in its new release later this year.