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Dubai: 3 Chinese companies get permits to try driverless cars on some roads
On Thursday, Khaleej Times was among the select media organisations invited by RTA and Baidu to trial Apollo Go's RT6, Baidu's sixth-generation self-driving taxi
- PUBLISHED: Fri 26 Sept 2025, 2:11 PM
Three Chinese companies –Baidu’s Apollo Go, WeRide, and Pony.ai– have been granted permits by Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) to conduct autonomous driving trials on designated roads, enabling them to deploy their vehicles for on-road testing across urban Dubai.
“By leveraging autonomous driving technologies and the fleet operation expertise of these companies, all required tests and operations will be conducted to ensure the vehicles adapt seamlessly to the city’s local environment,” the RTA said in a statement sent to Khaleej Times on Friday.
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“Through their collaboration with RTA, the three companies aim to co-build a global benchmark for smart mobility and contribute to solidifying Dubai's position as a world-leading autonomous city,” RTA added.
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On Thursday, Khaleej Times was among the select media organisations invited by RTA and Baidu to trial Apollo Go's RT6, Baidu's sixth-generation self-driving taxi.
The trial started from the parking lot of Jumeirah Mosque and covered a four-kilometre stretch of Jumeirah Road. The Apollo Go taxi was able to reach a top speed of 72km per hour, and it ably changed lanes. This is the first time Baidu’s Apollo Go is operating outside of China, where it has been operating 100 per cent fully driverless operations in more than 10 cities.
