China's drivers fret as robotaxis pick up pace - and passengers
WUHAN -Liu Yi is among China's 7 million ride-hailing drivers. A 36-year-old Wuhan resident, he started driving part-time this year when construction work slowed in the face of a nationwide glut of unsold apartments.
"There's a clear contrast between U.S. and China" with robotaxi developers facing far more scrutiny and higher hurdles in the U.S., said former Waymo CEO John Krafcik. Some Chinese firms have sought to test autonomous cars in the U.S. but the White House is set to ban vehicles with China-developed systems, said people briefed on the matter.
In Wuhan, Liu and other ride-hailing drivers call Apollo Go vehicles"stupid radishes" - a pun on the brand's name in local dialect - saying they cause traffic jams.Wuhan driver Wang Guoqiang, 63, sees a threat to workers who can least afford disruption. Apollo Go loses almost $11,000 a car annually in Wuhan, Haitong International Securities estimated. A lower-cost model could enable per-vehicle annual profit of nearly $16,000, the securities firm said. By contrast, a ride-hailing car earns about $15,000 total for the driver and platform.Automating jobs could benefit China in the long run given a shrinking population, economists said.
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