Car Inc., a car rental company with a fleet of 160,000 vehicles in China, and Baidu Apollo, Baidu's autonomous driving platform, have announced the launch of the world's first self-driving car rental service. This service allows anyone 18 years or older to experience short-term rentals that are "fully autonomous and fully self-service".
Car Inc.'s self-driving car rental service is built on Baidu Apollo's Level 4 autonomous driving platform. After booking, users specify their desired pickup time and location, and the system automatically matches them with the nearest available vehicle.
Upon pickup, the vehicle parks at the designated location, and users verify their identity to unlock the car. At the end of the trip, the car automatically drives itself to the user's designated return point without any further action required. During the rental period, users can flexibly set their itinerary within the operational area.
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A self-driving car near Baidu's headquarters in Beijing, China. Photo: Baidu |
A self-driving car near Baidu's headquarters in Beijing, China. Photo: Baidu
According to Car Inc.'s intelligent driving product manager, the service's initial fleet consists of customized Apollo Go (robotaxi) models, designed to carry up to three passengers. The operational process is integrated with Baidu Apollo's autonomous driving system. Pricing remains the same as Car Inc.'s existing short-term rental products, with flexible booking options from 4 hours to 7 days.
Apollo Go is Baidu's autonomous ride-hailing service platform. As of June of this year, Apollo Go has accumulated over 11 million service trips globally, with a 75% year-on-year increase in orders during the first quarter. In terms of cost control, the 6th generation Apollo Go vehicle is priced at 204,600 CNY (28,150 USD), 30% lower than Tesla and only one-seventh the operating cost of Waymo.
Some details about this partnership remain undisclosed, such as the total number of L4 autonomous vehicles deployed. According to the released information, the autonomous vehicles are only permitted for use by three people, meaning both front seats cannot be used. At the same price point, the space utilization efficiency of self-driving rentals is clearly lower than that of traditional non-autonomous vehicles. Moreover, another question arises: do renters still need a driver's license when renting such a self-driving car?
My Anh (CarNewsChina)
