CAR Inc. (00699.HK), a car rental company which has a fleet of 160,000 cars in China, and Baidu Apollo, Baidu’s autonomous driving platform, jointly announced yesterday the official launch of the world’s first autonomous driving rental product available to the public. This service allows individuals aged 18 and above to access a “fully autonomous + fully self-service” short-term rental experience.

The CAR Inc. autonomous driving rental service is built upon Baidu Apollo’s L4-level autonomous driving platform. Upon placing an order, users specify their desired pickup time and location, and the system automatically matches them with the nearest available vehicle. For pickup, the vehicle parks at the designated spot, and users verify their identity to unlock it. At the end of the journey, the vehicle automatically drives to the user-specified return point, requiring no further action. During their rental period, users can flexibly set their itinerary within the operational area.

According to CAR Inc.’s Intelligent Driving Product Manager, the service’s initial fleet consists of customised “Apollo Go” (Robotaxi) vehicles, designed to accommodate up to three passengers. The operational procedures are integrated with Baidu Apollo’s autonomous driving system. Pricing remains consistent with CAR Inc.’s existing short-term rental products, offering flexible booking options from 4 hours to 7 days.

Apollo Go is Baidu’s autonomous ride-hailing service platform. According to Chinese media The Paper, until June 2025, Apollo Go has accumulated over 11 million service rides globally, with a 75% year-over-year increase in orders during the first quarter of 2025, in terms of cost control, the sixth-generation Apollo Go vehicle costs 204,600 yuan (28,150 USD), which is 30% lower than Tesla’s and only 1/7 of Waymo’s operating costs.

Editor’s comment

There are still some unknown details about this collaboration, such as the total number of L4 autonomous vehicles deployed. According to the currently disclosed information, autonomous vehicles are only permitted for use by three individuals, meaning the front seats cannot be used. At the same price, their space utilisation is clearly inferior to that of traditional non-autonomous vehicles. Furthermore, another question seems to be intriguing: Is a driver’s license still required for the lessee when renting such an autonomous vehicle?

Source: CAR Inc.