Chinese technology giant Baidu is planning to launch testing of its self-driving taxis in Europe for the first time by the end of this year, reports said on Tuesday.
China's tech companies and automakers have poured billions of dollars into driverless technology in recent years, with intelligent driving the new battleground in the country's cutthroat domestic car market.
Self-driving taxis are already on the roads with limited capacity in China, most notably in the central city of Wuhan, where a fleet of over 500 can be hailed by app in designated areas.
Baidu plans to set up a local entity in Switzerland in the coming months and aims to begin testing its Apollo Go robotaxi service, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
The company has been in discussions with Switzerland's public bus service provider PostAuto to debut its robotaxi service in Switzerland, the WSJ report added.
A source confirmed to Agence France-Presse (AFP) that Baidu will set up a local entity in Switzerland in order to begin tests there before the end of 2025.
The company will also start testing Apollo Go in Türkiye, both the WSJ and AFP said, citing sources.
In March, Baidu announced it had signed an agreement to launch autonomous driving tests and services in Dubai, Apollo Go's first international fleet deployment.
One hundred self-driving vehicles will be on the roads there by the end of the year, the firm said in a statement.
Baidu is not alone among Chinese companies in seeking to expand its foothold abroad.
Its rival WeRide is also active in the Gulf region, and, in January, announced it had been picked to lead a small pilot project in Switzerland.
Pony.AI, another Chinese company, announced in April that it had received a permit to test robotaxis in Luxembourg.
Last week, it said it had signed a deal to launch its self-driving taxis on the Uber platform in "a key market in the Middle East later this year."
