Chinese autonomous vehicle startup AutoX has partnered with Alibaba’s mapping unit, AutoNavi, to bring self-driving vehicles to AutoNavi’s ride-hailing platform, AutoX announced on Monday.
According to the announcement, passengers will be able to hail rides with AutoX robotaxis through AutoNavi’s mobile app. They can choose to request both driverless cars and regular vehicles at the same time after entering pickup and drop-off locations. AutoX’s self-driving vehicles can pick up and drop off passengers at any location requested, said the company.
The service will be first launched in Shanghai, which has become AutoX’s largest operational hub after it launched a robotaxi operation center in the city on April 10, which the self-driving startup claims to be the largest data hub for self-driving cars in Asia. AutoX has also established a partnership with Shanghai authorities in September 2019 to roll out 100 robotaxis by early 2020.
The two companies will accept early riders starting from Monday, and the service will be open to the general public after the initial trial with this early group, said AutoX.
This article is part of KrASIA’s “China Brief” section, where KrASIA’s reporters will provide quick daily updates about the tech ecosystem in China.