从深圳街头到伦敦路口,萝卜快跑的自动驾驶之路 Apollo Go's Journey in Autonomous Driving

今日话题：从深圳街头到伦敦路口，萝卜快跑的自动驾驶之路
Today's Topic: From the Streets of Shenzhen to the Intersections of London, Apollo Go's Journey in Autonomous Driving

8月12日，萝卜快跑已在深圳南山、宝安、坪山三区开展运营，无人车正进入深圳市民的日常通勤。
On August 12, Apollo Go began operations in three districts of Shenzhen—Nanshan, Bao'an, and Pingshan, with autonomous vehicles gradually becoming part of the daily commute for local residents.

就在上个月，《深圳经济特区智能网联汽车管理条例》7月1日正式施行，成为中国首个为L4级自动驾驶车辆上路提供完整法律框架的地方性法规，深圳也成为全国首个明确无人驾驶制度的城市。
Just last month, on July 1, the amended "Regulations of the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone on Intelligent Connected Vehicles" officially came into effect. As China's first local legislation to provide a comprehensive legal framework for L4 autonomous vehicles on public roads, it makes Shenzhen the first city nationwide to establish a clear regulatory system for driverless driving.

一、立法先行：并非“全域开放”
1. Legislation First: Not a "City-Wide Open"

今年5月，深圳市人大常委会通过修正决定，授权市政府"在全市有序探索全域开放道路测试、示范应用，探索开展商业化运营试点"；
In May of this year, the Standing Committee of the Shenzhen Municipal People's Congress passed an amendment authorizing the municipal government to "orderly explore city-wide opening for road testing and demonstration applications, and pilot commercial operations."

7月1日，修订后的《条例》正式施行。这意味着在法律层面，无人驾驶从"能不能上路"的争论，变成了"如何有序铺开"的治理命题。
With the amended regulations officially taking effect on July 1, the legal focus has shifted from debating "whether autonomous vehicles can be on the road" to the governance challenge of "how to roll them out in an orderly manner."

《条例》的核心意义在于“确权”。它解决了长期困扰行业的最大痛点——法律责任主体。在《条例》出台前，无人驾驶车辆一旦发生事故，是算驾驶员的、运营商的，还是算法开发者的？法律界定的模糊让商业化运营如履薄冰。深圳率先从法律层面明确了准入标准与事故权责，这无疑是给行业吃了一颗“定心丸”。
The core significance of the regulations lies in "establishing rights and responsibilities." It solves the industry's biggest long-standing pain point: legal liability. Before these regulations, if an accident occurred, it was unclear whether the driver, the operator, or the algorithm developer would be held accountable. This legal ambiguity made commercial operations precarious. By taking the lead in defining access standards and accident liabilities, Shenzhen has undoubtedly given the industry a "reassurance pill."

值得注意的是，立法层面的“全域授权”并不等同于执行层面的“全域开放”。《条例》中提到的“在全市有序探索全域开放”，本质上是一种立法授权，赋予了政府部门在未来根据技术成熟度和道路承载能力划定区域的权力，而非一纸令下即刻全城解禁。
It is worth noting that legislative "city-wide authorization" does not equate to executive "city-wide opening." The provision to "orderly explore city-wide opening" is essentially a legislative empowerment. It grants government departments the authority to designate specific zones in the future based on technological maturity and road capacity, rather than an immediate, blanket city-wide lifting of restrictions.

目前的现状是，深圳的智能网联汽车仍处于严格的测试示范与商业化试点并行的阶段。萝卜快跑在南山、宝安、坪山的运营，正是基于这种“局部先行”的策略。这种策略既保证了技术的迭代，又最大程度地控制了公共安全风险。
Currently, intelligent connected vehicles in Shenzhen are still in a phase where strict testing demonstrations and commercial pilots run in parallel. Apollo Go's operations in Nanshan, Bao'an, and Pingshan are based precisely on this "partial先行" (localized first-mover) strategy. This approach ensures technological iteration while maximizing the control of public safety risks.

二、运营真相：南山、宝安、坪山三个绝佳考场
2. Operational Reality: Nanshan, Bao'an, and Pingshan as Prime Testing Grounds

为什么是深圳？常住人口约1800万、人口中位数年龄仅32岁，机动车、非机动车与行人高密度交织，交通复杂度极高——这恰恰是无人驾驶最真实的"考场"。而且年轻人对新技术天然接受度高，"你甚至能跟车说话"成了外国游客来深打卡的惊叹。当无人车从猎奇变成日常通勤，技术才算真正落地。
Why Shenzhen? With a permanent population of about 18 million and a median age of just 32, the city features a highly complex traffic environment where motor vehicles, non-motorized vehicles, and pedestrians are densely intertwined—making it the most authentic "testing ground" for autonomous driving. Moreover, young people have a naturally high acceptance of new technologies; the fact that "you can even talk to the car" has become a viral talking point for foreign tourists visiting Shenzhen. Only when driverless cars transition from a novelty to a daily commute can the technology be considered truly landed.

萝卜快跑选择南山、宝安、坪山这三个区，它们分别代表了深圳不同的城市切片，构成了绝佳的自动驾驶测试场。
Apollo Go selected these three districts because they represent different urban slices of Shenzhen, forming an ideal testing ground for autonomous driving.

南山区是科技巨头与写字楼的聚集地，早晚高峰的潮汐车流是对算法调度能力的极致考验；
Nanshan District is a hub for tech giants and office buildings, where the tidal traffic flow during morning and evening rush hours serves as an ultimate test for algorithmic dispatching capabilities.

宝安区拥有广阔的干道与物流园区，适合测试干线物流与高速场景；
Bao'an District features extensive arterial roads and logistics parks, making it suitable for testing trunk logistics and highway scenarios.

坪山区作为深圳的“车谷”，拥有众多汽车产业链企业，且路网规划较新，是政策落地的首选试验田。
As Shenzhen's "Auto Valley," Pingshan District hosts numerous automotive supply chain companies and boasts a relatively new road network, making it the prime testing ground for policy implementation.

目前的运营仍有其边界，在复杂的城中村道路、极端天气以及人车混行的混乱路口，完全无人驾驶依然面临挑战。当相比于早期的安全员随时准备接管，到如今真正实现“车内无人”的商业化收费运营，感知、决策、控制三大核心模块的鲁棒性已通过了大规模实战检验。
Current operations still have their boundaries. Fully autonomous driving continues to face challenges in complex urban village roads, extreme weather, and chaotic intersections with mixed pedestrian and vehicle traffic. However, compared to the early days when safety drivers were always ready to take over, today's truly "driverless" commercial paid operations demonstrate that the robustness of the three core modules—perception, decision-making, and control—has passed large-scale practical tests.

深圳的实践证明，自动驾驶并非一蹴而就的“黑科技”降临，而是一个在特定场景下不断做加法、不断蚕食长尾问题的渐进过程。
Shenzhen's practice proves that autonomous driving is not an overnight "black tech" miracle, but a gradual process of continuously adding value and chipping away at long-tail problems within specific scenarios.

三、全球竞速：中美双极引领下的格局分化
3. Global Race: Polarization Led by the US-China Dual-Pole

将视野从深圳拉向全球，2026年自动驾驶商业化的全球竞争格局，已呈现出清晰的“中美双极引领”态势。
Zooming out from Shenzhen to the globe, the competitive landscape of autonomous driving commercialization in 2026 has clearly formed a "US-China dual-pole leadership" pattern.

在北美市场，Waymo与特斯拉构成了核心力量。Waymo采取稳扎稳打的策略，已在旧金山、洛杉矶等5座城市部署超2500台无人车，计划将服务扩展至全美12座城市；特斯拉则以纯视觉方案押注规模化，在奥斯汀率先取消安全员，并计划推出专为无人驾驶设计的Cybercab车型。
In the North American market, Waymo and Tesla are the core forces. Waymo has adopted a steady strategy, deploying over 2,500 autonomous vehicles in five cities including San Francisco and Los Angeles, with plans to expand services to 12 cities across the US. Tesla, betting on scale with a pure-vision approach, has been the first to remove safety drivers in Austin and plans to launch the Cybercab, a vehicle designed specifically for autonomous driving.

与此同时，中国自动驾驶市场在政策试点与产业链协同下加速落地，形成了百度萝卜快跑、华为、滴滴全场景布局，以及Momenta、小马智行等细分赛道领先并存的局面。
Meanwhile, driven by policy pilots and industrial chain synergy, China's autonomous driving market is accelerating its rollout. This has created a landscape featuring full-scenario deployments by Baidu Apollo Go, Huawei, and DiDi, alongside leading players in niche segments like Momenta and Pony.ai.

在技术路线上，美国侧重纯视觉与端到端大模型，而中国则推行“激光雷达+车路协同”及无图化方案，这种因地制宜的技术路线为国内商业化提供了更稳健的安全冗余。
Regarding technical routes, the US focuses on pure vision and end-to-end large models, while China promotes "LiDAR + vehicle-road coordination" and mapless solutions. This localized technical approach provides a more robust safety redundancy for domestic commercialization.

四、萝卜快跑的突围：从“本土深耕”到“全球远征”
4. Apollo Go's Breakthrough: From "Local Cultivation" to "Global Expedition"

在全球Robotaxi赛道中，百度萝卜快跑与Waymo、特斯拉共同构成了第一梯队。如果说Waymo在北美的深耕是“近岸贸易”，那么萝卜快跑当下的战略则是开启“大航海时代”。
In the global Robotaxi race, Baidu Apollo Go, Waymo, and Tesla form the first tier. If Waymo's deep cultivation in North America is akin to "nearshore trade," then Apollo Go's current strategy is to embark on an "Age of Discovery."

萝卜快跑的全球布局呈现清晰的"双轮驱动"：中国技术实力+全球生态开放。
Apollo Go's global layout is driven by a clear "dual-engine" strategy: Chinese technological strength combined with global ecosystem openness.

一方面，在国内市场的积累让其实现降本增效。萝卜快跑在武汉等核心城市已率先实现单车盈亏平衡乃至盈利，第六代无人车的单车成本也降至20万元出头，这为其全球化扩张提供了充足的弹药。
On one hand, its accumulation in the domestic market has enabled cost reduction and efficiency gains. Apollo Go has taken the lead in achieving per-vehicle break-even and even profitability in core cities like Wuhan, with the cost of its sixth-generation autonomous vehicle dropping to just over 200,000 RMB, providing ample ammunition for global expansion.

另一方面，随着国内市场竞争加剧，萝卜快跑正加速布局全球。
On the other hand, as domestic market competition intensifies, Apollo Go is accelerating its global footprint.

中东是桥头堡。2026年3月，萝卜快跑在迪拜正式启动全无人商业化运营，成为当地首个且唯一拥有独立专属出行客户端的自动驾驶平台，计划未来几年内部署逾1000台全无人车；在阿布扎比，2026年1月已启动公众全无人商业运营。2026年7月，它又与哈萨克斯坦企业签约，首次将中国无人车带入中亚市场。
The Middle East serves as a bridgehead. In March 2026, Apollo Go officially launched fully driverless commercial operations in Dubai, becoming the first and only autonomous driving platform in the region with its own dedicated mobility app, with plans to deploy over 1,000 driverless vehicles in the coming years. In Abu Dhabi, fully driverless public commercial operations began in January 2026. In July 2026, it signed an agreement with a Kazakh enterprise, bringing Chinese autonomous vehicles to the Central Asian market for the first time.

更关键的交锋在伦敦。7月28日，萝卜快跑携手Uber和Lyft旗下Freenow，在伦敦启动公开道路测试，覆盖城市和城郊复合路况——这是中国无人驾驶企业首次驶入伦敦，也意味着萝卜快跑与Waymo将在同一座海外城市、同一套监管环境下正面竞速。此外，瑞士的AmiGo服务已于6月启动道路测试，计划2027年第一季度实现全无人运营。
A more critical showdown is taking place in London. On July 28, Apollo Go partnered with Uber and Freenow (under Lyft) to launch public road testing in London, covering complex urban and suburban routes. This marks the first time a Chinese autonomous driving company has entered London, meaning Apollo Go and Waymo will now compete head-to-head in the same overseas city under the same regulatory environment. Additionally, the AmiGo service in Switzerland began road testing in June, aiming for fully driverless operations by the first quarter of 2027.

很多人低估了“右舵左行”这一出海难关。把方向盘从左边挪到右边，远不止换个位置。背后是一整套车规、法规、路况、气候的重新标定与验证。深圳毗邻港澳、链接国际的区位，让左舵和右舵两套规则在此交汇——保险怎么赔、数据怎么过境、监管怎么协同，这些问题在深圳先被解决一遍，深圳因此成为技术出海的前置试验窗口。
Many have underestimated the challenge of "right-hand drive, left-hand traffic" when going global. Moving the steering wheel from left to right is far more than just a positional change; it requires recalibration and validation of an entire set of vehicle standards, regulations, road conditions, and climates. Shenzhen's proximity to Hong Kong and Macau, along with its international connectivity, allows both left-hand and right-hand drive rules to intersect here. Issues such as insurance claims, cross-border data flows, and regulatory coordination are resolved in Shenzhen first, making the city a forward testing window for technological export.

五、盈利拐点临近，从"中国第一"到"全球领先"
5. Approaching Profitability Inflection Point: From "China's No. 1" to "Global Leader"

截至今年4月，萝卜快跑面向公众的累计自动驾驶出行订单已突破2200万单，覆盖全球27座城市；自动驾驶总里程超3.3亿公里，其中全无人驾驶里程2.2亿公里。2026年一季度，它完成320万次全无人出行服务，同比增长约129%；3月周订单峰值突破35万单，日均最高5万单。
As of April this year, Apollo Go's cumulative public autonomous ride-hailing orders have surpassed 22 million, covering 27 cities globally. The total autonomous driving mileage exceeds 330 million kilometers, with 220 million kilometers being fully driverless. In the first quarter of 2026, it completed 3.2 million fully driverless trips, a year-on-year increase of approximately 129%. Weekly orders peaked at over 350,000 in March, with a daily maximum of 50,000.

在海外研究机构AutonomyAI发布的最新指数中，萝卜快跑以81.7分位居全球第一，领先Waymo 4.1分。
In the latest index released by overseas research firm AutonomyAI, Apollo Go ranked first globally with a score of 81.7, leading Waymo by 4.1 points.

商业化是检验技术的最终标准。李彦宏透露，萝卜快跑已在国内最大运营城市实现单车盈亏平衡（UE平衡）；而海外如迪拜、阿布扎比定价环境更宽松、用户付费意愿更高，盈利空间被认为可能超过国内。通过全球市场分摊研发成本与技术风险，这正是科技公司通用的规模化模型。
Commercialization is the ultimate test of technology. Robin Li revealed that Apollo Go has achieved per-vehicle unit economics (UE) break-even in its largest domestic operating city. Overseas markets like Dubai and Abu Dhabi, with more relaxed pricing environments and higher user willingness to pay, are expected to offer even greater profit margins than domestic markets. Spreading R&D costs and technological risks across global markets is precisely the universal scaling model for tech companies.

百度自2013年布局无人驾驶，2017年推出Apollo开放平台，2021年上线萝卜快跑。十余年投入，如今换来了另一种叙事：2026年一季度，百度核心AI新业务收入达136亿元，同比增长49%，首次占到一般性业务的一半以上，百度正从"搜索广告公司"转型为AI驱动的硬科技企业。Robotaxi正是这场转型的关键引擎之一。
Baidu has been investing in autonomous driving since 2013, launched the Apollo open platform in 2017, and introduced Apollo Go in 2021. Over a decade of investment has now led to a new narrative: in the first quarter of 2026, Baidu's core AI new business revenue reached 13.6 billion RMB, a 49% year-on-year increase, accounting for more than half of its general business for the first time. Baidu is transforming from a "search advertising company" into an AI-driven hard-tech enterprise, with Robotaxi serving as a key engine in this transformation.

结语
Conclusion

过去，我们谈论自动驾驶，更多聚焦于激光雷达的线数、芯片的算力、算法的参数量。这是讲“技术”的阶段。
In the past, when discussing autonomous driving, we focused more on the number of LiDAR lines, chip computing power, and algorithm parameters. This was the stage of talking about "technology."

而现在，深圳通过立法与局部商业化运营的结合，萝卜快跑通过跨国运营与生态合作，则表示产业进入了讲“制度”与“商业化”的阶段。
Now, through Shenzhen's combination of legislation and localized commercial operations, and Apollo Go's transnational operations and ecosystem partnerships, the industry has entered a stage focused on "institutional frameworks" and "commercialization."

Robotaxi的意义，不只是一个出行产品。它把中国在自动驾驶领域的工程能力、法规探索与商业化节奏，打包成一张可被全球市场检验的名片。当深圳的年轻人用App叫来一辆无人车，当伦敦的街头出现中国品牌的测试车队，我们看到的，是一套中国技术体系正从"国内练兵"走向"全球商用"。
The significance of Robotaxi goes beyond being just a mobility product. It packages China's engineering capabilities, regulatory exploration, and commercialization pace in autonomous driving into a business card that can be tested by the global market. When young people in Shenzhen summon a driverless car via an app, and when test fleets of Chinese brands appear on the streets of London, we are witnessing a Chinese technological system transitioning from "domestic training" to "global commercialization."

以上是今天的分享，祝愿中国无人驾驶技术在更多城市的街头稳健落地、行稳致远，也愿你我在每一次出行里，都能感受到科技带来的安心与便捷。
That concludes today's sharing. We wish China's driverless technology a steady and sustainable rollout on the streets of more cities, and hope that you and I can feel the peace of mind and convenience brought by technology in every journey.