Baidu wins licence to operate driverless taxis in Shenzhen

China’s tech firm Baidu Inc said on Friday that it has obtained a licence from regulators to offer driverless ride-hailing services in Shenzhen.

Its fleet of robotaxis, under the brand Apollo Go, will be allowed to operate across an area of 188 square kilometres in China’s southern tech hub Shenzhen, making it the fourth city in which the company’s driverless cars operate in.

Baidu also said it plans to put an additional 200 fully driverless robotaxis into service this year.