Overview: 1. Baidu's Autonomous Taxi Subsidiary, Apollo GO, Plans to Enter Southeast Asia 2. HelloRide, Ant Group, and CATL Invest CNY 3 Bn to Enter the Robotaxi Market 3. Global Robotaxi Race Accelerates as Robotaxi Players Push for Commercialization 4. Cainiao Establishes Cross-Border Logistics Network Between GCC Countries 5. 'Summer Davos 2025' was held in Tianjin from June 24 to 26
Event Highlights & Commentary
1. Baidu' Autonomous Taxi Subsidiary, Apollo GO, Plans to Enter Southeast Asia
【Event】According to market sources, Baidu's autonomous taxi subsidiary, Apollo GO, plans to enter the Southeast Asian market by the end of 2025. The company will primarily focus on the Singapore and Malaysia markets in the region. Foreign media reports indicate that Apollo GO is currently in talks with potential local partners to discuss the most suitable operating model for these two countries.
Currently, Apollo GO has launched autonomous driving services in multiple cities within China. According to Baidu's financial report, the company has charge fees for the autonomous ride-hailing services on open roads in cities such as Beijing, Chongqing, and Wuhan, and has obtained permits to provide autonomous services in Shenzhen Pingshan and Shanghai Pudong.
Golabally, Apollo GO has been expanding its presence in Hong Kong, China, the Middle East, and Europe. In November 2024, it received approval to conduct public road tests in Hong Kong, marking its first step outside of mainland China. In March of this year, the company made progress in the UAE, signing a cooperation agreement with the Dubai Roads and Transport Authority to deploy 1,000 fully autonomous vehicles in Dubai. It also reached a strategic joint venture agreement with UAE's autonomous mobility company Autogo to create the largest autonomous vehicle fleet in the Abu Dhabi region. At the same time, Apollo GO announced its launch in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. In the first quarter of 2025, the company provided over 1.4 million rides globally, a 75% year-on-year increase. As of May 2025, Apollo GO has completed over 11 million trips globally.
Recently, Apollo GO has been actively exploring partnership opportunities in Switzerland and Turkey as part of its European expansion. Baidu plans to establish a physical presence in Switzerland within the next few months to offer autonomous mobility services.
【Comment】In addition to Apollo GO, domestic autonomous driving companies such as WeRide, Pony.ai, and Momenta have accelerated their deployments in markets outside of China and the US, making the competition in the international intelligent driving market increasingly intense. Apollo GO's shift toward Southeast Asia is both a tactical retreat from domestic competition and an attempt to break through in terms of technology commercialization. However, the complex traffic ecosystem, strict data compliance requirements, and cultural differences in Southeast Asia present significant challenges for the company. Moreover, the need to create a differentiated local solution within the mature mobility networks built by local giants such as Grab and Gojek, while pushing for commercialization, is another hurdle that Apollo GO must overcome.
2. Global Robotaxi Race Accelerates as Robotaxi Players Push for Commercialization
【Event】On June 22 local time, Tesla launched a pilot Robotaxi service in Austin, Texas, deploying 10 Model Y vehicles. Passengers are charged a fixed fee of USD 4.2. This marks a key step in validating Tesla’s vision-based, end-to-end autonomous driving model and signals a faster pace toward Robotaxi commercialization.
However, reports indicate that Tesla’s Robotaxi vehicles may have violated traffic regulations during their debut, including speeding and improper lane changes. The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) stated it does not pre-approve new technologies or vehicle systems and requires automakers to prove each model complies with federal motor vehicle safety standards.
Beyond Tesla, China is leading the global push to commercialize autonomous driving technologies. Several major Chinese Robotaxi companies are actively expanding into overseas markets. WeRide is partnering with Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority and Uber to launch a commercial Robotaxi service in the city. Pony.ai is also testing and operating a Robotaxi fleet in Dubai. Meanwhile, on June 23, Chinese mobility company HelloRide announced its official entry into the Robotaxi sector.
With new entrants joining and leading companies accelerating global expansion, the Robotaxi industry is rapidly moving from technical validation to large-scale commercialization. Experts note that the Chinese Robotaxi companies going global will speed up the international deployment of domestic technologies and strengthen innovation-driven growth.
【Comment】Since the concept of Robotaxi was proposed in 2016, Elon Musk has repeatedly postponed the launch of Tesla's autonomous driving. The current issues revealed in testing not only affect Tesla's market valuation but also raise concerns about the baseline of public road safety. Additionally, beyond fundamental challenges such as safety, infrastructure operation, and regulatory compliance, Tesla's Robotaxi faces fierce competition from strong and more advanced players including Waymo under Google, Zoox under Amazon, as well as Chinese autonomous driving companies like WeRide and Pony.ai. The future of Robotaxi still requires time for validation.
3. Cainiao Establishes Cross-Border Logistics Network Between GCC Countries
【Event】On June 23, Cainiao made a significant advancement in its global logistics network by establishing a cross-border logistics network for parcel delivery between the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) countries in the Middle East, with deliveries taking as little as three days.
This marks a major breakthrough in Cainiao's G2G (global to global, inter-country transportation and delivery) logistics service capabilities, following its efforts in providing local delivery services for China’s imports and exports as well as key overseas markets.
The GCC countries—UAE, Oman, Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia—are among the most economically dynamic and consumer-active regions globally, making them a hotspot for cross-border e-commerce and logistics. Cainiao’s G2G logistics service in the Middle East Gulf region caters to the customized logistics needs of local e-commerce platforms and cross-border e-commerce sellers. By using a centralized stocking and regional distribution model, the service significantly reduces cross-border logistics costs, helping businesses improve their competitiveness in the local market. Specifically, a combination of air and ground services offers flexible solutions to meet market demands: efficient air transport delivers in as fast as 3 days, while economical ground transport reaches all areas within 6-8 days, with major cities seeing average delivery times of 5 days. The average cost per kilogram is USD 1 less than the market average.
In addition to the Middle East, Cainiao’s global logistics network spans many countries, marking an important step for Chinese logistics companies in their internationalization efforts. Unlike domestic traditional logistics companies that primarily compete on price and network density, Cainiao has seized market opportunities with its large-scale overseas logistics network, creating a competitive barrier that is difficult to replicate. Currently, Cainiao has achieved scaled implementation of its “Global 5-Day Delivery” in 14 countries, covering Europe, America, and Asia. Compared to 2022 and 2024, overall delivery times have been reduced by 50%. The international logistics sector, once dominated by European and American giants, is quietly changing as Chinese logistics companies like Cainiao rise to prominence.
Founded in 2013, Cainiao is the core logistics platform under the Alibaba Group ecosystem and the world’s largest cross-border e-commerce logistics service provider. Its business includes international express delivery, international supply chains, and local overseas services.
【Comment】In the future, to succeed in the market competition, Cainiao will need to increase its research and development efforts, focusing on smart warehousing, automated sorting, and intelligent logistics management. Additionally, it must actively expand its diverse services and move toward a one-stop service complex model.
4. 'Summer Davos 2025' was held in Tianjin from June 24 to 26
【Event】The 16th Annual Meeting of the New Champions (Summer Davos 2025) will be held in Tianjin, China, from June 24 to 26, organized by the World Economic Forum. According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on June 23, Premier Li Qiang will attend the forum from June 24 to 25. During this time, Premier Li will attend the opening ceremony, deliver a special address, and meet with foreign guests attending the forum.
The theme of this year is "Entrepreneurship in the New Era," with over 1,800 representatives from more than 90 countries and regions, including business, government, social organizations, academia, and international organizations. They will focus on five key topics: deciphering the world economy, outlook on China, industries disrupted, investing in people and the planet, and new energy and materials, to explore solutions to global challenges.
The Summer Davos emphasizes forward-thinking and exploration, focusing on discovering new global growth drivers. World Economic Forum Executive Director Liang Jinwei stated that China has made remarkable achievements in technological innovations such as internet finance, 3D printing, humanoid robots, and artificial intelligence. These topics will be a key focus of the forum, with over 25 sub-forums dedicated to China.