Apollo Go, tech company Baidu’s robotaxi service, has received a permit to offer fully-driverless rides in Beijing, expanding its autonomous ride-hailing service to three major cities in China. Following the awarded permit, Baidu is now the first company in the entire world to offer fully-driverless rides to the over 21 million residents in China’s capital city.
Baidu has previously been primarily known as a search engine giant in China, but has turned its focus toward EVs, AI, and autonomous driving technologies the past several years. In fact, its Apollo ecosystem has garnered over a hundred partnerships with various manufacturers and suppliers including Toyota, Ford, and Volkswagen.
Additionally, the internet company has made impressive progress in developing its own robotaxi fleet in China using its Apollo software platform. In January of 2021, Baidu announced it was expanding from software development into physical EV production, joining forces with Geely to produce electric vehicles. The companies soon introduced JIDU – an intelligent robot EV startup that recently unveiled its second EV model.
Since then, Baidu has also introduced a bespoke robotaxi called the RT6 – capable of Level 4 autonomous driving, complete with a detachable steering wheel. While Baidu works to get a robotaxi of that tier of autonomy certified in China, it has been making tremendous progress with its Apollo Go service, which surpassed one million autonomous rides last summer and eclipsed two million rides in late January 2023.
Previously, Baidu has been permitted by the powers that be in China to operate fully-driverless robotaxi rides in the cities of Wuhan and Chongqing. Today, it announced that Beijing is now the next megacity in China to allow fully-driverless rides.
Credit: Baidu
Baidu expands driverless robotaxi rides to China’s capital
Baidu announced its awarded robotaxi permit for Beijing in a press release today, sharing services will begin with the deployment 10 fully-driverless vehicles in the city’s Yizhuang Economic Development Zone.
The tech company states that Apollo Go is already providing an average of over 20 rides per EV, per day in that zone, which is higher than the average daily rides for traditional ride-hailing services. Its initial footprint for driverless robotaxi services is 60 square kilometers, but says it will eventually expand to 500 square kilometers in China’s capital.
Today’s news is the latest milestone in Baidu’s news from last November, in which is shared plans to scale up Apollo’s operations in 2023 with self-driving robotaxi operations in more regions of China. This strategy all remains part of a larger goal to expand its Apollo Go self-driving service to 65 cities by 2025 and 100 cities by 2030.
With targets like that, we can expand to hear of more robotaxi rollouts in China soon.
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links.More.
Porsche today showed off two of its new products at IAA in Munich. The long-awaited Cayenne EV showed up with a new trick: an 11kW induction charger.
Details are still a little sparse at the moment, but it looks like a forthcoming Cayenne, which we hope to get a better look at later this month, will have 11kW wireless charging capability. Also new: the Cayenne will DC charge at up to 400kW, one of the fastest charging cars we’ve seen outside of China. But back to induction charging…
Porsche’s press release didn’t mention the type of induction charging, whether it would be compatible with other types of inductive chargers, or whether this was something that would come on other Porsches, wider VW vehicles, or even across the industry. The price is listed at €2000 for the option on the car and €5000 for the charging pad.
How inductive charging works in detail
Inductive charging is known from smartphones, but also from electric toothbrushes. The energy is transferred through the air via a magnetic field. For this purpose, a transmitter coil made of copper and ferrites is located in the base plate. Alternating current flows through this coil, which generates a magnetic field.
Porsche’s innovative concept uses ultra-wideband technology to determine the vehicle’s relative position above the floor plate. When the optimal parking position is reached, the driver is informed. In the vehicle’s secondary coil, which acts as a receiver unit, the magnetic field then generates alternating current. A rectifier then converts this into direct current so that the Cayenne’s high-voltage battery can store it.
The mechanism works by showing the charger on the front-view display. The driver must align the car to a certain place on the front of the car. Once over the spot, the car will lower itself to within 4-6 inches of the charging pad.
Advertisement – scroll for more content
Porsche wireless charging
Up to 11 kW
Efficiency up to 90 %
Active cooling
Charging pad 50 kg and 1,17 m 46“ long
Car lowers automatically when it parks over the pad
Motion sensor shuts down the plate when living beings or metal is being detected
Price 2.000 Euro vehicle, 5.000 Euro for the inductive plate, plus an electrician
At 240V, the 11kW Inductive charger would have a ~46A load. Porsche says the unit is up to 90% efficient, which means that the draw would be at least 12.2kW, which is about a 48A load at 240V.
Local media got a first hand look:
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links.More.
Honda is finally getting ready to show off a full-size electric motorcycle, and it’s coming with something we rarely see on two wheels: fast charging. The company confirmed it will reveal more details about the bike on September 16, and all signs point to it being the long-awaited production version of the EV Fun concept first teased last year.
That’s a big deal. While we’ve seen plenty of electric scooters and small commuter bikes from Honda and other legacy manufacturers, a full-size electric motorcycle with legitimate highway performance – and fast charging – would put Honda into much more serious territory.
Most current e-motos in this category either rely on slower Level 2 charging or have limited battery capacity (with a few notable exceptions like the LiveWire One). A lack of DC fast charging can make long-distance travel impractical on an electric motorcycle, or at least time-consuming with longer coffee breaks while Level 2 charging. Honda’s decision to integrate fast charging could be the differentiator that makes their bike a real contender for riders who don’t want to be tied down by long charge times.
While we don’t have full specs yet, teaser images of the bike clearly showcase a CCS Combo 2 charge port, which is used in Europe for fast charging.
Advertisement – scroll for more content
It’s an interesting move, especially since the company previously described the range of the upcoming model as being sufficient for urban use, without providing solid battery capacity information.
The bike looks nearly identical to the EV Fun concept, with a modern naked sport-bike style and Honda’s classic design language.
From the renders and spy shots floating around, it’s clearly meant to compete in the same class as mid-size combustion motorcycles like Honda’s CB series. That means it won’t be a tiny urban commuter; we’re talking about something built for the highway.
In addition to a dearth of info regarding the battery size, Honda hasn’t shared exact range or pricing yet, but those three specs will make or break this launch. Range has been the Achilles’ heel of many electric motorcycles, with real-world numbers often falling short of what riders expect from a gas bike, making faster highway-speed trips trickier without fast charging stops.
Price is another key factor. If Honda tries to compete head-to-head with Harley’s LiveWire or the high-dollar Zero models, it could find itself in a three-way battle to attract new riders. But if it manages to slot into a more accessible price bracket, we could see Honda move a lot of units.
While Honda says we’ll get the official details on September 16, the end-of-year timing also lines up well with the EICMA show in Milan this November. Don’t be surprised if Honda makes a bigger splash there, giving the bike its proper global debut in front of the industry.
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links.More.
Kia launched the EV5 in South Korea, its stylish new Sportage-sized electric SUV. With prices starting at just $35,000, the Kia EV5 arrives as an affordable SUV that’s built for the masses. But those in the US may never get to see it.
Kia launches the EV5 in Korea at an affordable price
After opening orders in the UK earlier this week, Kia launched the EV5 in its home market of South Korea on Wednesday.
Like overseas, the electric SUV is available in three variants: Air, Earth, and GT-Line. Powered by an 81.4 kWh battery, the EV5 offers a range of up to 460 km (285 miles).
A single front-mounted electric motor provides up to 215 hp (160 kW) and 295 Nm max torque. It can also recharge from 10% to 80% in about 30 minutes using a 350 kW charger.
Advertisement – scroll for more content
The EV5 is 1,875 mm wide, 4,610 mm long, and 1,675 mm tall, with a wheelbase of 2,750 mm, which is slightly smaller than that of the Tesla Model Y. To give you a better idea, that’s 10 mm wider, 70 mm longer, and 30 mm taller than the Kia Sportage.
The Kia EV5 (Source: Hyundai Motor Group)
The extended wheelbase provides “best-in-class” rear passenger space, according to Kia, with 1,041 mm second-row legroom.
Despite an upright stance like the larger EV9, the EV5 still has a sporty look with Kia’s latest design elements. The vertically stacked LED headlights and slim DRLs with Star Map lighting add to the bold styling.
The Kia EV5 boasts “best-in-class” second row legroom (Source: Hyundai Motor Group)
The interior features Kia’s latest ccNC infotainment system, featuring dual 12.3″ driver cluster and infotainment screens in a panoramic display. Plus, there’s an added 5″ AC display.
Kia introduced several new features, including a new sound bar and display theme. Through a partnership with Disney, the EV5 will play welcome and goodbye tunes, EV-specific sounds, and more.
The interior of the Kia EV5 (Source: Hyundai Motor Group)
The base EV5 Air starts at 48.55 million won ($35,000) in Korea, while the Earth trim is priced from 52.3 million won ($37,600). Upgrading to the sporty GT-Line costs 53.4 million won ($38,400).
With government and local subsidies, Kia expects the EV5 to be available for purchase at around 40 million won ($28,800).
Starting Price
Driving Range
Kia EV5 Air
48.55 million won ($35,000)
460 km (285 miles)
Kia EV5 Earth
52.3 million won ($37,600)
460 km (285 miles)
Kia EV5 GT-Line
53.4 million won ($38,400)
460 km (285 miles)
Kia EV5 prices and driving range by trim in South Korea
In comparison, the base Tesla Model Y RWD starts at 52.99 million won ($38,000) and has a driving range of up to 400 km (248 miles).
Although Kia plans to launch the EV5 in North America, it will be exclusively sold in Canada. We’ve seen a few EV5 models testing in the US, sparking speculation (or hope) that it could arrive, but don’t get your hopes up too soon. The last official statement from Kia still says the EV5 will be exclusive to Canada in the North American market.
What do you think of Kia’s new electric SUV? Would you buy one in the US? With Trump’s tariff war, don’t get your hopes up.
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links.More.