The Chinese search engine giant has invested a lot of money into artificial intelligence and self-driving vehicles.
The Apollo RT6 EV is a cross between an SUV and a minivan that has a steering wheel, and will be added to the Apollo Go ride-sharing service. The first model built on its self-driving platform is the battery-electricrobotaxi. The in-house development of the battery-electric architecture helped trim production costs to a manageable level.
By next year, it will be possible to build and operate tens of thousands of robotaxis in Chinese mega-cities, thanks to recent advances in manufacturing.
The cost reduction will allow us to deploy tens of thousands of AVs across China. Taking arobotaxi will be half the cost of a taxi in a few years.
ApolloRT6
There are two and four passengers. The company said a steering wheel could be used for eating, vending machines, desktops, or gaming consoles. Natural light can be seen into the cabin of the car with the sunshade on.
There are 38 sensors, including a dozen cameras and eight LiDAR, in the ApolloRT6 that can be used to navigate complex streets.
It is not known how many miles it can travel on a battery.
The company said it has begun charging for rides in Beijing. The move will allow the company to expand its business beyond China to 65 cities by the year 2025.
The story has been changed to clarify when the RT6 will be rolled out.
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