Can China Repeat Its EV Success with Robotaxis?

China's autonomous driving industry benefits from the powerful industrial ecosystem that made the country the world's largest EV market. Unlike Tesla, which develops most of its technology in-house, China's self-driving sector relies on a network of established carmakers like BYD, Chery, Geely, and SAIC building the vehicles, while specialist firms develop the software. Autonomous vehicles use many of the same components as EVs—batteries, sensors, chips, and onboard computers—and existing supply chains at enormous scale enable faster, cheaper technology development.

Government policy also supports the industry through pilot programs in several cities that allow testing on public roads. Complex driving conditions in China—such as Beijing's mix of buses, scooters, cyclists, and pedestrians—generate vast amounts of data to improve software. However, global expansion faces challenges. Extreme temperatures in the Middle East, heavy rain in Southeast Asia, and snow in Switzerland can reduce battery performance and interfere with cameras and sensors.

The main commercial competitors are in the US. Waymo, Alphabet's robotaxi business, remains the commercial leader with paid driverless services in multiple US cities. Amazon-owned Zoox and Tesla are expanding cautiously, while Uber has abandoned its own autonomous vehicle development after a fatal accident in 2018. Uber and Lyft now partner with Chinese firms, gaining access to millions of customers.

Safety incidents have eroded public confidence. Earlier this year, Baidu's Apollo Go service suffered a software malfunction that left about 100 robotaxis stranded in Wuhan, with some passengers unable to exit due to locked doors. GM shut down its Cruise division after a 2023 crash where a robotaxi dragged a pedestrian several meters. Analysts note robotaxis are harder to export than EVs due to complex regulatory approvals, detailed mapping, local operating teams, and public trust. Additionally, robotaxis generate mapping and location data that raises national security concerns in foreign markets. Despite this, Chinese companies like WeRide say regulators are becoming more receptive to autonomous driving technology.