There’s no timeline for when to expect robotaxi service, although it may just be a matter of technical readiness when the city government granted testing permits on August 28th.

Didi was under pressure to roll this out. Baidu had already committed to debuting its own service in the city of Changsha, and Pony.ai is planning service of its own in a district of Guangzhou. While Didi isn’t about to lose its ridesharing dominance in China in the near future, there’s a long-term risk of falling behind if it’s slow to embrace self-driving tech. This could ensure that it’s truly ready for the day when robotaxis are ubiquitous on Chinese streets.