What's Going On Baidu Stock After Launching China's First 24/7 Robotaxi Service?
Portfolio Pulse from Nabaparna Bhattacharya
Baidu, Inc. (NASDAQ:BIDU) announced the upgrade of its Apollo Go autonomous ride-hailing service to operate 24/7 in selected areas of Wuhan, marking a significant milestone as China's first round-the-clock autonomous driving service. This expansion aims to meet nighttime travel demands, enhancing safety and convenience. Apollo Go's growth is evident with 839K rides provided in Q4, a 49% increase year over year, and over 5 million accumulated rides as of January 2, 2024. Additionally, Apollo Go launched fully autonomous rides in Wuhan and Beijing, including operations on highways leading to Beijing Daxing Airport. In Q4 2023, fully driverless orders in Wuhan constituted 45% of the total orders, up from 40% in the previous quarter. BIDU shares rose 1.02% to $98.81 in premarket trading.

March 08, 2024 | 2:00 pm
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POSITIVE IMPACT
Baidu, Inc. has upgraded its Apollo Go service to operate 24/7 in Wuhan, becoming the first in China to offer round-the-clock autonomous driving services. This expansion, along with significant growth in rides provided and the introduction of fully autonomous rides in new areas, demonstrates Baidu's leadership in autonomous ride-hailing. Shares rose 1.02% to $98.81 in premarket trading.
The announcement of Apollo Go's upgrade to 24/7 operations and its continued expansion and growth in rides provided are positive indicators of Baidu's innovation and leadership in the autonomous ride-hailing sector. This is likely to be viewed positively by investors, as evidenced by the premarket stock price increase. The expansion into new areas and the increase in fully driverless orders suggest strong demand and operational success, further supporting a positive short-term impact on BIDU's stock price.
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