DiDi Global looks to mass produce robotaxi vehicles in 2025

The race to create a robotaxi fleet intensified on Monday after a joint venture between Chinese ride-hailing app DiDi Global (OTCPK:DIDIY) and Guangzhou Automobile Group’s (OTCPK:GNZUF) electric vehicle unit set plans to mass produce robotaxis in 2025.

The Andi Technology 50-50 joint venture between DiDi Global (OTCPK:DIDIY) and GAC Aion New Energy Automobile was just established last year, and only recently landed its business license. The JV is the first in China between an L4 autonomous driving tech company and an automobile manufacturer that is aimed at the mass production of robotaxi vehicles.

The robotaxis produced by the Andi Technology joint venture will be based on GAC’s all-electric SUVs and will be equipped with autonomous driving technology developed by Didi. The goal is for the vehicles to be capable of Level 4 autonomy, which denotes full self-driving under certain conditions. Andi Technology expects to eventually supply about 10,000 vehicles for Didi’s ride-hailing service after beginning production next year.

DiDi Autonomous Driving Chief Operating Officer Meng Xing said the establishment of the joint venture represents a significant step forward in the successful rollout of the first mass-produced vehicle, marking a new phase of productization in the autonomous driving industry. “DiDi is committed to closely collaborating with GAC Aion to accelerate the large-scale commercial deployment of autonomous driving,” he noted.

Tesla (TSLA) is holding an event on August 8 to unveil its robotaxi plans. The timing, scale, and technology behind Tesla’s (TSLA) robotaxi initiative could impact other autonomous upstarts such as Google’s (GOOG) Waymo and General Motors’ (GM) Cruise.