- Chinese and American companies are racing to be the first to make the robotaxi dream come true.
- Chinese firms have a decisive advantage, Jennifer Li, CFO of China-based robotaxi WeRide, told BI.
- She said the country’s booming EV industry is giving companies like WeRide access to a sea of cheap technology.
The US and China are racing to make the robot taxi dream a reality – but China may have a key advantage.
Jennifer Li, CFO of Chinese robotaxi firm WeRide, told Business Insider that while China and the US have a wealth of autonomous vehicle talent and technical know-how, China’s high-tech EV industry is giving its robotaxi firms an edge. decisive.
“We have the luxury of being supported by the electric vehicle supply chain in China. The EV ecosystem in China has given us a tremendous advantage,” Li said.
The WeRide executive said self-driving companies starting in China had abundant access to electric vehicles that could be easily retrofitted with self-driving technology and could quickly and cheaply build custom autonomous vehicles in a variety of formats.
“We also have the cost advantage. We work closely with all domestic car manufacturers to develop the best autonomous vehicles, and we can bring them to market quickly,” Li said.
China’s EV Boom
China has seen a dramatic boom in its electric vehicle market in recent years, fueled in part by heavy government support for the industry.
Local automakers like BYD have grown rapidly, undercutting foreign rivals by offering electric vehicles for prices as low as $10,000 and causing anxiety among U.S. automakers, many of which have faced a difficult transition to electric vehicles.
Xiaomi’s SU7 is part of a wave of affordable smart electric cars hitting the Chinese market. JADE GAO/Getty Images
Many Chinese electric vehicles are increasingly packed with smart technology, with smartphone makers such as Xiaomi and Huawei entering the EV market with affordable models that come with autonomous driving features, advanced voice control and giant infotainment screens. entertainment.
China’s autonomous vehicle scene has also grown rapidly in recent years. Robotaxis firm Pony.AI announced last month that it will expand its robotaxis fleet to 1,000 vehicles this year.
Meanwhile, Baidu’s Apollo Go ride-hailing service, which operates robot taxis in multiple Chinese cities, has completed more than 8 million trips since launch and recently announced that its sixth-generation vehicle will be priced under 30,000 dollars.
In contrast, the US robot industry has hit some speed bumps in recent years.
Google-backed Waymo has expanded rapidly and is now serving more than 150,000 rides a week in several US cities, but General Motors pulled the plug on rival Cruise last month despite spending $10 billion on the robot taxi company since 2016.
Founded in 2017, WeRide is one of the few Chinese AV companies expanding beyond its home market.
The robotaxi firm operates a range of autonomous vehicles – which include robotaxis, robovans and robo-road sweepers – in seven countries. WeRide also recently launched two autonomous pilots in Switzerland and has partnered with Uber to offer its ride-hailing app robotaxi in Abu Dhabi.
WeRide launched an initial public offering on the Nasdaq stock market last year that valued the company at over $4 billion. Its US debut comes as many Chinese tech firms are becoming increasingly embroiled in rising geopolitical tensions between the US and China.
Chinese firms are caught in the middle
The outgoing Biden administration on Tuesday confirmed new rules that effectively ban Chinese auto software and hardware from the US market. The measures, which come after the US government approved punitive tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles last year, also bar Chinese companies from testing robotaxis on US roads.
WeRide has been testing autonomous vehicles in California since 2017. The company received an expanded permit to test its passenger vehicles without a safety driver in August, but unlike Waymo it does not have permission to transport paying members of the general public.
Li told BI that WeRide’s US presence was focused on R&D and testing and that the company had no plans to offer public passenger services in the country.
Robot taxi firm Waymo has expanded rapidly in recent years and is now serving over 150,000 rides per week. PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images
“We are not actively looking to directly enter the market right now,” Li said, adding that WeRide was still evaluating the potential impact of the new rules.
A spokesperson for WeRide confirmed that the company had no plans to launch its products or services in the US and said WeRide was “closely monitoring” policies in the US to maintain full compliance for its activities in the country.
Turmoil is only likely to increase when Donald Trump takes office for a second term next week, with fears that the incoming president’s pledge to impose tough tariffs on China could spark a global trade war.
Li said WeRide couldn’t comment on measures it hadn’t seen yet — but added that Elon Musk’s influence over the new administration was cause for partial optimism.
The billionaire has close ties to China, which is one of Tesla’s most important markets and the location of its Shanghai gigafactory.
“Elon is playing an important role in the administration, and Elon is actually a very friendly party with the Chinese side,” Li said.
“We have all these Tesla fans in China and so we remain partially optimistic about the future,” she added.
Do you work at a robotics company or have some knowledge to share? Contact this reporter at tcarter@businessinsider.com or @tcarter.41 at Signal.
