Robotaxis could arrive in Switzerland by the end of 2025

Chinese internet giant Baidu plans to test self-driving taxis for the first time in Switzerland by the end of 2025, a source familiar with the matter confirmed to AFP on Wednesday.

The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday that Baidu is in talks to launch its Apollo Go robotaxis service with PostBus, a subsidiary of the Swiss Post Office that specializes in operating regional and urban bus networks. Baidu also plans to test the deployment of Apollo Go in Turkey, according to the newspaper and the same source.

In March, the Beijing-based company announced it had signed an agreement to launch autonomous driving tests and services in Dubai, the first deployment of the international Apollo Go robotaxis fleet.

Around 100 self-driving vehicles will be on Dubai's roads by the end of the year, the company said in a statement.

Chinese tech companies and automakers have invested billions of dollars in autonomous driving technology in recent years, with intelligent driving becoming the new battleground in the country's hotly contested domestic auto market. Baidu isn't the only Chinese company looking to expand its presence abroad in this sector.

Its rival WeRide is also active in the Gulf region and announced in January that it had been chosen to lead a small pilot project in Switzerland as well.

Pony.AI, another Chinese company, announced in April that it had received a permit to test robotaxis in Luxembourg.

In May, it said it had signed an agreement to launch its self-driving taxis on the Uber platform in "a key Middle Eastern market," without specifying which one, "later this year."