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Baidu's Shares Surge 13% Amid Largest Autonomous Vehicle Deployment in Wuhan, Despite Pedestrian Accident

Jul 9, 2024, 09:30 PM

Baidu's autonomous vehicle platform, Apollo Go, has recently deployed 1,000 driverless taxis and delivery vehicles in Wuhan, marking the world’s largest autonomous vehicle experiment. However, a self-driving taxi under Apollo Go collided with a pedestrian on July 7, after the person crossed the street on a red light. Baidu reported that the pedestrian suffered no obvious trauma. This incident has sparked discussions about the safety and public perception of autonomous vehicles, with social media users largely siding with the car. Despite the accident, Baidu's shares in Hong Kong rose significantly, by as much as 13% with a triple transaction volume, driven by bullish analyst views and increasing deployment of the company's autonomous vehicles. Guotai Junan analysts predict that as deployment volume increases, the per-unit operating cost will decrease. The shares saw their largest jump in over a year, reflecting growing popularity and confidence in Baidu's robotaxi service, which is now testing in 11 cities including Beijing, Shanghai, and Wuhan.