Performance Doubles, Baidu Luobo KuaiPao's Global Business Experiences Rapid Growth

On August 20, Baidu Inc. released its financial report for the second quarter of 2025, showing that its autonomous ride-hailing service platform, Luobo Kuaipao, delivered an impressive performance. In this quarter, Luobo Kuaipao provided over 2.2 million ride services globally, representing a growth rate of 148% compared to the same period last year. As of August 2025, the cumulative number of ride services provided by Luobo Kuaipao has exceeded 14 million, and its service network has expanded to 16 cities worldwide.

This data reflects the continued expansion of Apollo Go in the autonomous driving mobility service sector and the growing acceptance among users. While the business is developing rapidly, Apollo Go’s internationalization process is also accelerating significantly.

Image source: Luobo Kuaipao

Recently, Luobo Kuaipao has been actively expanding into overseas markets. In July this year, the company announced strategic partnerships with globally leading ride-hailing platforms Uber and Lyft. According to the cooperation plan, Luobo Kuaipao will use Uber's network to start offering autonomous driving services in Asia and the Middle East by the end of 2025. In the future, passengers will be able to directly request Luobo Kuaipao's driverless vehicles through the Uber app.

At the same time, the cooperation with Lyft focuses on the European market. Both parties aim to introduce Luobo Kuaipao's sixth-generation autonomous vehicles into operation in Germany and the UK by 2026, with plans to gradually expand the fleet size in the future.

At the technical level, Luobokuaipao continues to promote cost reduction and efficiency improvement. Its sixth-generation unmanned vehicle, jointly developed by Baidu Apollo and Jiangling New Energy, is reportedly about 60% cheaper than the previous generation.

In addition, Baidu founder Robin Li recently mentioned his focus on autonomous driving technology routes in an internal meeting, stating that he is closely monitoring the development of various technological approaches, including pure vision solutions, in order to adapt to changes in the global competitive landscape.

The global autonomous ride-hailing service market is experiencing active competition. In addition to Apollo Go, major players such as Waymo and Tesla are also actively deploying and advancing commercialization in their respective regional markets.

It is worth noting that the regulatory environment in many global markets is creating more favorable conditions for the commercialization of autonomous driving. For example, the UK Department for Transport has recently launched a consultation on a licensing scheme for autonomous vehicle services, aiming to allow the first autonomous taxis, rental cars, and public buses to begin operations on the road by the spring of 2026. Such policy developments are seen as positive signals for the development of the autonomous driving industry.