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Investing.com -- Baidu plans to begin operating fully driverless robotaxis in Dubai by the first quarter of next year, as the Chinese tech giant expands its autonomous vehicle services beyond China.
Liang Zhang, managing director of EMEA at Baidu’s Apollo Go, announced Thursday that the company has reached an agreement with Dubai’s Roads & Transport Authority to launch the service.
Apollo Go aims to deploy over 1,000 robotaxis on Dubai’s roads by the end of 2027 or early 2028, Zhang said.
The company has already begun testing 50 robotaxis in designated areas with test driving licenses and autonomous-driving permits, though these tests currently require a human safety officer in the vehicle.
"The policy in the Middle East is relatively open," Zhang said. "The region is also quite open for new technology so we will likely take the Middle East as a key region for commercialization and scaling up fleet size."
Zhang noted that Dubai’s strong demand and good transportation infrastructure make it well-suited for robotaxi services, as Baidu attempts to replicate the success it has achieved with its autonomous vehicle program in Wuhan, China.
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