Caitong: Self-driving taxis are advancing globally, focusing on existing mature experiences and upcoming entry targets.

Caitong released a research report stating that domestic manufacturers have been continuously advancing in the field of autonomous driving taxi, with new entrants emerging and publicizing their future plans, including automakers, travel platforms, and smart driving suppliers. In addition to deployment in China and the United States, participants in the Robotaxi industry are also accelerating their expansion in the Middle East, Europe, and other Asian regions. Robotaxi is advancing globally, and it is recommended to pay attention to existing mature Robotaxi operating experiences and potential targets that will enter this field in the future. Key points from Caitong are as follows: Domestic manufacturers are making continuous progress, with new participants emerging Pony.ai, Xiaoma Zhixing, and Wenyuan Zhixing are the main participants in the domestic Robotaxi industry, all showing improvement in revenues, orders, etc. compared to 2024: Xiaoma Zhixing's passenger fare revenue in the second quarter of 2025 increased by over 300% year-on-year, Wenyuan Zhixing's Robotaxi-related revenue in the first half of 2025 increased by 364% year-on-year, and Pony.ai's order volume in the second quarter of 2025 exceeded 2.2 million, an increase of 148% year-on-year. New entrants are emerging in the domestic market and have publicized their future plans, including automakers, travel platforms, and smart driving suppliers, such as Xpeng, Momenta, Chongqing Afari Technology, DiDi, Hellobike, and CAOCAO INC. Tesla and Waymo in the United States are making progress, with policies gradually relaxing Tesla began operations in Austin in June 2025 and has been expanding continuously from there. It is expected to gradually expand to other cities in Nevada, Florida, and Arizona by the end of 2025; the fleet is planned to reach 1500 vehicles by the end of 2025, and Cybercab is expected to start mass production in the second quarter of 2026. Waymo's fleet and weekly order volume doubled in 2025, and they are constantly updating their progress for 2026. In addition, Uber announced its entry into the Robotaxi industry, with partners including Lucid, Stellantis, as well as NVIDIA and Nuro. At the policy level, the U.S. government is gradually relaxing some regulatory requirements, such as simplifying exemption procedures. Deployment of Robotaxi fleets in the Middle East, Europe, and some Asian regions In addition to deploying in China and the United States, participants in the Robotaxi industry are also accelerating their expansion in the Middle East, Europe, and other Asian regions. For example, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia in the Middle East, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Germany, and the United Kingdom in Europe, as well as Singapore, Japan, and South Korea in Asia. Abu Dhabi in the Middle East has allowed manufacturers to conduct unmanned commercial operations in vehicles, with Wenyuan Zhixing planning to increase its fleet size to 1000 vehicles in the Middle East region by 2026, with plans to reach tens of thousands of vehicles by 2030.