Baidu's Robotaxi Hits New Record: 350K Weekly Orders! Robin Li: Single-City Profitability Achieved
TL;DR · AI Summary
Baidu's Apollo Go reached 350K weekly orders in Q1 2026 across 27 cities globally, achieving single-vehicle break-even in key domestic cities. Baidu's AI new business revenue hit 52% of total, surpassing online marketing for the first time, with smart cloud revenue surging 79% YoY, marking a complete strategic pivot to AI.
Key Takeaways
- Apollo Go completed 3.2M autonomous rides in Q1 2026, with weekly order peak at
- Baidu's AI new business revenue reached RMB 13.6B (52% of total), smart cloud up
- Apollo Go achieved per-vehicle break-even in major domestic cities, partnering w
Outline
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In Q1 2026, Apollo Go completed 3.2 million autonomous rides, with weekly order peak exceeding 350K across 27 cities globally.
Within two months, total rides increased by 2M and fully driverless mileage added 30M km, with overseas expansion in Middle East, Korea, Switzerland and UK.
Apollo Go achieved per-vehicle break-even in its largest domestic city, with replicable operations model and better pricing environment overseas.
Baidu's AI new business accounted for 52% of Q1 revenue, surpassing online marketing, with smart cloud revenue jumping 79% and GPU cloud up 184%.
Baidu launched universal agent DuMate, no-code platform Miao 3.0 and self-evolving Agent2.0, with AI marketing revenue growing 36% YoY.
Apollo Go partners with CAR to launch autonomous vehicle rental at Haikou airport, integrating robotaxi into urban public transport systems.
Mindmap
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查看大纲文本（无障碍 / 无 JS 友好）
- 百度萝卜快跑业务进展
- 运营数据
- Q1完成320万次出行
- 周订单峰值35万单
- 覆盖27城
- 财务表现
- AI新业务占比52%
- 智能云收入增79%
- 单车盈亏平衡
- 战略布局
- 海外拓展中东/欧洲
- 神州租车合作
- DuMate/Agent2.0产品
Highlights
Key sentences worth saving and sharing.
Apollo Go's weekly orders in March exceeded 350K, enabling up to 50K daily rides at peak, processing 34 orders per minute.
Baidu's AI-related new business revenue reached RMB 13.6B, up 49% YoY, exceeding 52% of total general business revenue for the first time.
Apollo Go achieved per-vehicle break-even in its largest domestic operation city, even under relatively low pricing environment.
Smart cloud infrastructure revenue hit RMB 8.8B in Q1, surging 79% YoY, with GPU cloud revenue growing 184%.
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2026-05-19 09:52:07 Source: QbitAI
Operating in 27 Cities Globally
By Jessica from Fujia Temple
Smart Car Reference | Official Account AI4Auto
China's Robotaxi breaks business ceiling again.
As Baidu's financial report was released, Apollo Go's latest data was disclosed: Robotaxi weekly orders peak at over 350,000, with daily orders reaching up to 50,000.
Within two months, Apollo Go's cumulative trips increased by 2 million, while cumulative fully driverless mileage grew by 30 million kilometers.
Apollo Go operates across 27 cities worldwide, including core Chinese cities where unit-level profitability has already been achieved.
With expanding fleets and operational coverage, autonomous vehicles may soon arrive at your doorstep.
Apollo Go's Latest Report Card
In Q1 2026, Apollo Go completed 3.2 million fully driverless trips, a YoY increase of approximately 129%.
Baidu also revealed Apollo Go's peak weekly orders in March exceeded 350,000.
To put this in perspective: At peak capacity, Apollo Go completes up to 50,000 Robotaxi trips daily – equivalent to 34 trips per minute.
As of April 2026, Apollo Go's cumulative autonomous ride-hailing orders have surpassed 22 million.
Total autonomous driving mileage has exceeded 330 million kilometers, with 220 million kilometers being fully driverless.
Compared to Q4 2025 data (released February 2026), Apollo Go added 2 million trips and 30 million kilometers of fully driverless mileage in just two months.
Calculations show an average trip distance of 15 kilometers during this period – typical for commutes, cross-district travel, and airport/station transfers, indicating Apollo Go's service focus.
Apollo Go's operational footprint spans 27 global cities:
Domestic operations cover Wuhan, Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Sichuan-Chongqing region, and parts of Hong Kong.
Overseas markets include Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Seoul, with public road testing recently launched in Switzerland.
Notably, Apollo Go has made significant progress in the Middle East. Its dedicated app launched in Dubai in March 2026, making it the region's first and currently only autonomous ride-hailing platform with an independent client.
Additionally, Robin Li disclosed that the first batch of autonomous vehicles has arrived in London. Soon, Apollo Go will begin testing alongside Uber and Lyft in the UK capital.
Meanwhile, top Robotaxi competitor Waymo recently reported in Alphabet's earnings:
- Operating in 11 cities globally
- Weekly fully autonomous trips exceeding 500,000
Neither company disclosed current fleet sizes, with only growing order volumes and expanding service areas indicating industry progression into a new competitive phase.
Robin Li: Core Chinese Cities Achieve Profitability
As industry leaders race toward commercialization, profitability becomes increasingly critical – though not Apollo Go's current core objective.
Robin Li revealed that operational data from Chinese markets has enabled Apollo Go to develop mature autonomous driving algorithms and operational systems.
Consequently, Apollo Go has achieved unit-level profitability in its largest Chinese operational cities, even with relatively low pricing.
This system demonstrates scalability for broader market expansion. Apollo Go's expansion into right-hand-drive markets (Hong Kong to London) leverages accumulated operational experience.
Overseas markets typically offer more favorable pricing environments with greater profit potential. As operations scale, international profitability may surpass domestic performance.
However, Li emphasized that autonomous ride-hailing remains in its early stages, with business models not yet fully established.
Thus, Apollo Go's current strategy prioritizes:
- Expanding operational scale
- Advancing core technology
- Consolidating operational advantages
Beyond conventional Robotaxi services, Apollo Go is exploring new commercialization channels. A collaboration with CAR Inc. (神州租车) has deployed autonomous rental vehicles at Haikou Airport's arrival area for passenger convenience.
Li stated Apollo Go now focuses on integrating autonomous mobility services into:
- Urban public transport systems
- Daily city operations
- Citizens' everyday lives
How Did Baidu Perform in Q1?
For many, "Baidu" still means "search engine." But Q1 2026 financials reveal a significant transformation underway.
Baidu's total Q1 revenue reached ¥32.1 billion RMB, slightly decreasing 2% QoQ but remaining stable overall.
Notably:
- Online marketing services (historical core revenue) declined 22% YoY to ¥12.6 billion, now representing 48% of core revenue (down from 63% YoY)
- AI-driven revenue (smart cloud + AI services) grew 42% YoY to ¥13.4 billion, now comprising 52% of core revenue – surpassing online marketing for the first time
This structural shift is driven by Baidu's "core AI new business," which generated ¥13.6 billion (52% of core revenue), growing 49% YoY.
AI has undeniably become Baidu's revenue pillar.
CFO Rong Luo highlighted:
- Core business revenue grew 2% YoY, returning to growth
- Non-GAAP operating profit increased 39% QoQ to ¥4.0 billion
- Operating cash flow remained positive at ¥2.7 billion
These metrics indicate improving operational efficiency and business health.
Breaking down AI revenue:
- Smart cloud infrastructure revenue surged 79% YoY to ¥8.8 billion, with GPU cloud revenue growing 184%
- AI applications revenue remained stable at ¥2.5 billion YoY
While application growth lags infrastructure, Baidu continues advancing products like:
- General-purpose agent DuMate (handling cross-app/file operations)
- No-code programming platform "Miao 3.0"
- Self-evolving Agent 2.0 (setting industry benchmarks in ML engineering tests)
Though early-stage, these products build technical reputation and user base.
In marketing, AI-native services generated ¥2.3 billion (up 36% YoY), gradually offsetting traditional advertising declines. Baidu App maintains 655 million MAUs.
Profitability metrics:
- Operating profit: ¥3.2 billion (10% margin)
- Net profit: ¥3.4 billion
- Non-GAAP net profit: ¥4.3 billion (YoY decline but within healthy range)
Baidu's growth engine has fundamentally shifted: traditional businesses stabilize while AI accelerates. This marks Baidu's entry into a new growth era – no longer just a "search" company.
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