AutoX has announced that its RoboTaxi ride-hailing service in Shanghai is now open to the public. The service is now available through Alibaba’s AutoNavi smartphone app (a.k.a. Amap, Gaode, or 高德). Additionally, AutoX has announced a strategic partnership with Letzgo, a taxi fleet operations company headquartered in Shanghai. The partnership means AutoX RoboTaxis can be hailed through Letzgo’s smartphone app in addition to Alibaba’s AutoNavi app. The service via Letzgo is expected to debut in the coming weeks.
Location & Vehicles
Rides can be hailed in Shanghai’s Jiading District, following AutoX’s agreement with city officials to allow a fleet of 100 vehicles to operate there. Letzgo manages over 16,000 vehicles in more than 18 cities across China, including Shanghai. The taxi company’s staff will be trained at AutoX’s Shanghai Operations Center, which opened in April 2020.
“AutoX has taken special precautions to keep riders safe during COVID-19,” the company said in a statement. “Upon entering a RoboTaxi, customers only need to say the last four digits of their cellphone number to a voice recognition system within the vehicle in order to start their journey.”
Future Plans for AutoX
Shanghai is the first city where AutoX has launched its RoboTaxi services. AutoX is currently testing autonomous vehicles in Shenzhen, Wuhan, Wuhu, and other cities around the world. AutoX intends to launch its RoboTaxi service in those cities in the following months.
