Baidu, the Chinese search engine giant that has plowed money into AI and autonomous vehicle technology, unveiled Wednesday a new all-electric robotaxi that it plans to deploy at scale across China.
Baidu will add the Apollo RT6 EV – a cross between an SUV and a minivan that comes with a detachable steering wheel – to its Apollo Go ride-hailing service next year. The new battery-electric robotaxi is Baidu’s sixth-generation autonomous vehicle and the first model built on its Xinghe self-driving platform. The automaker said that developing the battery-electric architecture in-house helped trim production costs to a manageable $37,000 per unit.
Baidu said that recent adva …