“Beep beep.” At the entrance of a construction site adjacent to a four-lane road, a large cargo truck was slowly reversing out. A taxi that was driving in the far-right lane slowed down and honked its horn in warning, prompting the truck to come to a stop immediately. The taxi then slightly swerved to avoid colliding with the rear of the truck before gradually accelerating again. This is about the autonomous driving robo-taxi, "LuoBoKuaiPao" (English name: Apollo Go), developed by the Chinese telecommunications corporation Baidu. It operates fully unmanned, even without a safety officer in the passenger seat.
On the 26th of last month, I experienced the 6th generation of LuoBoKuaiPao (RT6), which commercialized level 4 (high automation with no driver intervention) for the first time in the world, in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China. This is the first time the 6th generation has been introduced to the Korean media. Baidu plans to usher in an era of "autonomous driving popularization" starting this year with the 6th generation, which boasts a vehicle cost approximately half lower than before. Of course, it is not alone. Various telecommunications and automotive corporations are racing toward the same goal. Thanks to their intense competition, China's autonomous driving market scale is rapidly growing.
◇ Stable driving even with unexpected obstacles… The 6th generation is becoming smarter and more comfortable
The 6th generation of LuoBoKuaiPao was relatively simple to use. It has recently been improved so that foreigners can use it with just a Chinese mobile phone number, allowing for a direct experience. When the dedicated app is opened, the serviceable range is displayed on the map. After setting the starting point and destination within that area and pressing the request button, the expected arrival time appears. After using it several times, all arrivals were within 10 minutes. The vehicle that arrived was the "Yichi 06" model, made by Zhangling New Energy Automobile in collaboration with Baidu. Large LiDAR sensors designed for autonomous driving were mounted on the roof of the vehicle.
There are two methods to open the car door. You can either touch four digits of the back seat of the mobile phone on the keypad on the vehicle door or bring a mobile phone that has the app installed close to the door. That day in Wuhan, the temperature reached a scorching 33 degrees Celsius, but the cool air from the air conditioning was felt as soon as I boarded. This was thanks to pre-setting the desired temperature and air volume through the app while waiting for the vehicle. After boarding, pressing the "Start" button on the screen located in the center of the seat begins the operation. Be cautious as the warning message continues if the seatbelt is not fastened.
The driving ability of LuoBoKuaiPao exceeded expectations. The road environment in China is extremely complex due to habits like bicycles driving in the wrong direction, numerous delivery motorcycles, and drivers changing lanes without signaling. In particular, Wuhan drivers are said to be more aggressive compared to those in other cities. Nevertheless, that day, LuoBoKuaiPao smoothly navigated through these obstacles. On complex roads, it maintained a speed of around 20 km/h, while it exceeded 60 km/h on relatively less trafficked and faster roads. During traffic congestion, it maneuvered to find quicker routes. There were instances of sudden braking and acceleration, but they were not overly disruptive. A fellow passenger noted, "It is stable enough to trust as if a person was driving."
According to Baidu, the 6th generation particularly emphasized safety. A representative from LuoBoKuaiPao said, "Autonomous driving is ten times safer than human driving," adding, "Especially in China's complex road conditions, the actual accident rate of LuoBoKuaiPao is only 1/14th of human drivers." On the door of the 6th generation vehicle I observed that day was the phrase, "LuoBoKuaiPao is safer."
Another characteristic is that it has become smarter compared to the 5th generation. Various commands, such as adjusting the air conditioning temperature and opening or closing windows, can be given by voice. The interior space of the vehicle has also become more comfortable. In the case of the 5th generation, there was a partition between the driver's seat and the rear seat, and the interior space was cramped. However, the 6th generation is of a relatively spacious size, intermediate between a sports utility vehicle (SUV) and a multi-purpose vehicle (MPV), with the partition having been removed. The only measure preventing users from driving is a transparent box placed over the steering wheel. During a ride of 11.3 km over 28 minutes, the fare was 28.95 yuan (approximately 5,800 won). Normally, the base fare is 15 yuan, totaling 88.77 yuan, but I received nearly a 70% discount since it was in the trial operation phase.
Baidu operates LuoBoKuaiPao in over 10 cities in China, including Wuhan, and has recently surpassed a total order count of 10 million and a total driving distance of 150 million km. This year, especially, it plans to usher in an era of "autonomous driving popularization" by emphasizing the 6th generation. The significant drop in the unit cost of the 6th generation to about 200,000 yuan (approximately 40 million won), more than 50% lower than before, greatly contributes to this. Late last year, preparations were underway to enter the global market, starting with Hong Kong. Robin Li, Baidu's Chief Executive Officer (CEO), noted in February, "This year will be the most important year for the expansion of LuoBoKuaiPao," stating that the scale of vehicles and passengers is expected to increase faster than ever.
◇ China's autonomous driving market to reach 100 trillion won this year… "Can compete with Tesla in the U.S."
Baidu is not the only corporation racing in the autonomous driving sector. The chairman of the world's largest electric vehicle company, BYD, Wang Chuanfu, remarked, "2025 will be the first year of intelligent driving (autonomous driving) for all citizens," indicating the fierce competition among corporations. In the private vehicle sector, most Chinese autonomous driving technology has been commercialized to level 2, requiring driver intervention, but it is expected that this year will see the entry into level 3, which does not require driver intervention except in emergencies.
Among the corporations that develop systems and collaborate with automobile manufacturers like Baidu is Huawei. The CEO of Huawei's Smart Car Solutions Division, Yu Chengdong, announced last month that the operating system (OS) Hongmeng Zhilin ADS, which will be equipped in the electric vehicle "ZhiJie," produced in collaboration with the state-owned car company Chiruji, will be upgraded to level 3 at version 4.0. Among electric vehicle companies, BYD's "TianShenZhiYan" announced in February that it would equip its $10,000 (approximately 14 million won) small electric cars with autonomous driving capabilities, coming closest to commercialization. Additionally, Zika plans to unveil level 3 technology within this month, while Li Auto and Xiaopeng plan to release level 3 electric vehicles this year.
To stay ahead in the competition, these corporations are pouring massive amounts of money into research and development (R&D). BYD invested 54.16 billion yuan (approximately 10.9 trillion won) in R&D last year. Chairman Wang stated at the shareholders' meeting last June, "We plan to invest 100 billion yuan (approximately 19.8 trillion won) in autonomous driving alone in the future." Huawei invests over 10 billion yuan annually in the autonomous driving sector. A representative from LuoBoKuaiPao stated, "Baidu has executed cumulative R&D investments of 180 billion yuan (approximately 36.6 trillion won) in artificial intelligence (AI) and autonomous driving since 2013."
Having already secured a stronghold in the global electric vehicle market, China believes it can surpass the U.S. in the autonomous driving sector. According to the Chinese news outlet Fengmian, in the past three months alone, more than 12 automotive companies have unveiled autonomous driving strategies, and over 20 smart cars have been released. The Chinese economic media Financial Circle reported industry forecasts indicating that this year, the size of the Chinese autonomous driving market is expected to exceed 500 billion yuan (approximately 100.8 trillion won), stating, "Chinese corporations possess the technological capabilities and ongoing R&D investments necessary to compete directly with Tesla."