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Details
- Baidu’s autonomous ride-hailing platform Apollo Go has received Dubai’s first permit for fully driverless testing from the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA), allowing autonomous vehicles to run on public roads without a safety driver.
- The permit enables Apollo Go to begin fully unmanned trials on designated open roads as it works toward launching a commercial robotaxi service in Dubai as early as the first quarter of 2026.
- The announcement coincides with the opening of Apollo Go Park in downtown Dubai, the company’s first overseas integrated operations and management hub for autonomous vehicles.
- Apollo Go Park is designed as a 2,000-square-meter center for intelligent road infrastructure, charging and maintenance, safety management, and operational command for driverless fleets.
- Baidu and Dubai’s RTA plan to scale Apollo Go’s fully driverless fleet in the emirate to more than 1,000 vehicles over the coming years, supporting Dubai’s broader smart mobility and autonomous transport goals.
- The permit builds on a strategic cooperation agreement signed in 2025 and follows earlier autonomous driving trial licenses that allowed Apollo Go to test a 50-vehicle fleet on Dubai’s roads.
- RTA officials describe the permit as a milestone in creating a flexible regulatory framework for AI-driven mobility, with goals that include improved road safety, lower emissions, and better public transport efficiency.
Impact
Apollo Go’s move into fully driverless testing in Dubai signals a new phase in the global race to commercialize robotaxis outside core markets like China and the United States. By pairing regulatory approval with a dedicated operations hub and a roadmap to a 1,000-vehicle fleet, Baidu positions itself as a serious contender in international autonomous mobility, directly challenging companies such as Cruise, Waymo, and Motional that have focused primarily on North America and parts of Asia. For Dubai, partnering with a major Chinese AI and autonomous driving player strengthens its bid to become a benchmark smart city, diversifying technology alliances beyond Western vendors and aligning with its goal to automate a substantial share of transport by 2030. If Apollo Go can demonstrate safe, reliable operations at scale, it could accelerate regulatory comfort with driverless fleets in the Middle East, attract further investment into AI-enabled transport infrastructure, and influence how other cities structure public–private partnerships for autonomous ride-hailing over the next two years.
