FSD Vanguard

Baidu's Apollo Go Surpasses 17 Million Rides Globally, Targets Profitability This Year
Baidu's autonomous ride-hailing service, Apollo Go, has cemented its position as a global leader, reporting over 17 million total rides completed and commanding more than 250,000 fully driverless orders per week.
According to announcements made at the recent Baidu World Conference, the company is targeting profitability for its Apollo Go service by the end of 2025, driven by significant cost reductions and expanding operational efficiency.
Global Leadership in Orders: Apollo Go claims the world's leading position in autonomous ride-hailing. The service has seen explosive growth, completing over 3 million orders in the three months leading up to October 31, a nearly 50% quarter-over-quarter increase.
Safety Superiority: Baidu founder Robin Li highlighted the system's superior safety record, stating that the fully driverless vehicles average 10.14 million kilometers of operation before a single airbag deployment, a metric the company claims surpasses both human driver performance and its competitor, Waymo.
Operational Expansion: Apollo Go currently operates in 22 cities globally, including major Chinese hubs like Beijing, Shanghai, and Shenzhen, as well as international locations such as Dubai and Abu Dhabi, where it is beginning to offer tourist shuttle services.
Cost Reduction and Profitability: A critical factor in the path to profitability is the dramatically reduced cost of the autonomous hardware. The company's sixth-generation driverless vehicles cost only 204,600 yuan (approximately $28,600 USD) per unit, down from millions previously. With operations in key markets like Wuhan nearing the break-even point, Apollo Go is projected to achieve overall profitability in 2025.
Vision for the Future: Robin Li projected that by 2030, the operational cost of robotaxis in the United States could fall to approximately $0.25 USD per mile, predicting a 5- to 7-fold surge in ride-hailing demand as driverless vehicles transform into new "mobile living spaces."