Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) has signed a memorandum of understanding with Chinese tech giant Baidu to launch its self-driving taxi service, Apollo Go, across the Emirate.
As part of the agreement, an initial trial phase will begin next month with 50 autonomous vehicles, laying the groundwork for the official launch of the service in 2026.
The project will utilize Baidu’s latest generation of autonomous taxis, the RT6 model, which is specifically designed for self-driving operations. These vehicles are equipped with 40 sensors and detectors to ensure maximum automation and safety. The RT6 has already gained significant traction in China, receiving widespread praise from users.
The data collection and testing phase will start with 50 vehicles, and based on performance and service quality, the fleet will gradually expand to 1,000 autonomous taxis over the next three years. This marks Apollo Go’s first international expansion for testing and deploying self-driving cars outside of mainland China and Hong Kong.
To date, Apollo Go has recorded over 150 million kilometers of safe autonomous driving and completed more than 10 million driverless trips, making it the world’s largest autonomous ride-hailing fleet.
The MoU was signed in the presence of Mattar Al Tayer, Director General and Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors of RTA, and Halton Nie, General Manager of Overseas Business at Baidu’s Intelligent Driving Group (IDG).
