Apollo Go has ramped up its international expansion efforts following a series of regulatory and commercial breakthroughs, including a new licence to extend trials in Hong Kong’s Southern District.
Hong Kong has emerged as a significant beachhead for Apollo Go’s global ambitions. The city’s Transport Department recently issued a new pilot licence granting approval to expand roboticaxi testing from initial sites in North Lantau and Tung Chung to the Southern District.
Since securing its first autonomous vehicle (AV) licence in Hong Kong in November 2024, the Baidu subsidiary has logged more than 20,000km of safe autonomous driving in the city.
The new licence marks the third phase of pilot growth in six months — enabling trials in increasingly complex commercial and residential environments.
Hong Kong not only widens Apollo Go’s operational footprint but serves as Baidu’s inaugural project in a right-hand drive, left-hand traffic market.
“Our experience there provides us valuable insights for entering other right-hand drive markets, strengthening our confidence in scaling Apollo Go globally,” said Robin Li, CEO and Co-founder of Baidu.
14 million rides
As of August 2025, Apollo Go has provided more than 14 million public rides. It delivered more than 2.2 million fully driverless rides in Q2 alone. That’s an increase of 148% from the previous year.
In total, Apollo Go’s fleets have clocked more than 200 million autonomous kilometres worldwide, while maintaining a robust safety record across 16 cities.
High-profile partnerships
Apollo Go’s international surge is further bolstered by high-profile partnerships. In July, Baidu announced a multi-year strategic agreement with Uber to introduce thousands of its fully AVs across Uber’s platform in select countries outside the United States and mainland China. Initial deployments are expected in markets across Asia and the Middle East later this year.
August also saw Baidu reach an agreement with Lyft to bring Apollo Go’s AVs to major European markets. Pending regulatory approval, rollouts will commence in Germany and the United Kingdom starting in 2026, with ambitions to deploy thousands of vehicles continent-wide in the ensuing years.
Additionally, Apollo Go initiated open-road autonomous testing in Dubai and Abu Dhabi earlier this month, marking its entry into the Middle East and adding to its growing footprint as a global leader in autonomous ride-hailing technology.
Entelechy Asia 