Report says China is deploying robotaxis faster than the US

In short: US companies may have the strongest self-driving technology, but Chinese companies are putting driverless taxis on the road faster.

What's going on

Driverless taxis, often called robotaxis (taxis that drive themselves using computers and sensors), are no longer a lab project. In San Francisco and about 10 other US cities, people can hail a Waymo car using an app. In Wuhan and more than 20 Chinese cities, riders can do the same with Baidu’s Apollo Go service.

A recent report from the Special Competitive Studies Project says the US still leads in innovation, meaning the research and engineering behind the vehicles. But China is moving faster on deployment, meaning getting these cars into everyday use at a large scale. The report argues that being first to build the best system does not always matter as much as being able to roll out a good enough system widely and at a lower cost.

The report points to several reasons. China makes a large share of key parts such as lidar (a sensor that measures distance using lasers, like a very detailed tape measure made of light). That helps bring prices down. It estimates a robotaxi costs about $40,000 in China, versus about $130,000 to $200,000 in the US.

Rules also differ. The US has a patchwork of state-by-state regulations, which can slow expansion. China’s rules have been simpler in many places, although China recently paused new permits after an outage affected more than 100 Apollo Go vehicles in Wuhan.

What to watch

Public trust may decide how fast robotaxis spread. Only 35% of Americans say they would ride in a driverless car, versus 60% of Chinese consumers. The next big test could come in London, where both US and Chinese services, plus the UK startup Wayve, plan pilots.

Source: Financial Times