China's drivers fret as robotaxis pick up pace - and passengers
China's 7 million ride-hailing drivers. A 36-year-old Wuhan resident, he started driving part-time this year when construction work slowed in the face of a nationwide glut of unsold apartments.
Now he predicts another crisis as he stands next to his car watching neighbours order driverless taxis.
«Everyone will go hungry,» he said of Wuhan drivers competing against robotaxis from Apollo Go, a subsidiary of technology giant Baidu.
Baidu and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology declined comment.
Ride-hailing and taxi drivers are among the first workers globally to face the threat of job loss from artificial intelligence as thousands of robotaxis hit Chinese streets, economists and industry experts said.
Self-driving technology remains experimental but China has moved aggressively to green-light trials compared with the US which is quick to launch investigations and suspend approvals after accidents.
At least 19 Chinese cities are running robotaxi and robobus tests, disclosure showed. Seven have approved tests without human-driver monitors by at least five industry leaders: Apollo Go, Pony.ai, WeRide, AutoX and SAIC Motor.
Apollo Go has said it plans to deploy 1,000 in Wuhan by year-end and operate in 100 cities by 2030.
Pony.ai, backed by Japan's Toyota Motor, operates 300 robotaxis and plans 1,000 more by 2026. Its vice president has said robotaxis could take five years to become sustainably profitable, at which point they will expand «exponentially».
WeRide is known for autonomous taxis,
