China’s autonomous mobility race has entered another milestone as CaoCao Inc. begins testing Robotaxis without onboard safety drivers. The move signals the company’s transition from supervised autonomous driving to fully driverless operations, positioning it among a growing group of mobility providers seeking to commercialise autonomous ride-hailing services at scale. Backed by Geely Holding Group, CaoCao is combining AI-powered autonomous driving, purpose-built vehicles, and cloud-based fleet management to accelerate the deployment of Robotaxi services across China.
CaoCao Inc. has officially launched public road testing of Robotaxis without safety drivers behind the wheel, marking a significant step in its roadmap toward commercial autonomous ride-hailing services.
The initial driverless testing programme will operate in Hangzhou’s Binjiang District, where the company will evaluate vehicle performance under real-world urban traffic conditions. Rather than expanding rapidly, CaoCao is beginning with a controlled deployment that uses a station-triggered dispatch system designed to assess operational stability, service reliability, and overall system safety before wider rollout.
The announcement reflects the accelerating competition within China’s autonomous driving sector, where technology companies and automotive manufacturers are moving beyond pilot programmes to prepare for commercial-scale Robotaxi operations.
Cloud-Based Safety Platform Supports Driverless Operations
A critical component of CaoCao’s deployment is its Zhixing RAS Remote Safety Service Platform, which serves as the cloud-based operational centre for the company’s autonomous fleet.
Every Robotaxi participating in the pilot is connected to the platform, enabling continuous vehicle monitoring, emergency response coordination, remote operational assistance, and incident management. While vehicles operate without drivers inside the cabin, remote oversight remains an important layer of operational safety as autonomous vehicle technology progresses toward wider commercial deployment.
Remote operations centres have become an increasingly common feature of Robotaxi services worldwide, allowing operators to intervene when vehicles encounter unexpected traffic scenarios or require human guidance during complex urban situations.
Building on Earlier Regulatory Approval
The latest testing programme follows regulatory approval secured earlier this year. In April, CaoCao became the first company in Hangzhou authorised to conduct road testing of intelligent connected vehicles without onboard safety drivers.
Since receiving approval, the company has deployed a fleet of approximately 100 Robotaxis across Hangzhou while expanding supporting infrastructure designed specifically for autonomous fleet operations.
Among those investments is what the company describes as the world’s first Green Intelligent Mobility Hub, a dedicated facility that combines automated battery swapping, vehicle cleaning, inspection, and preparation. By automating routine fleet servicing, the hub is intended to reduce turnaround times and improve utilisation rates as Robotaxi operations expand.
Purpose-built operational infrastructure is increasingly viewed as a competitive differentiator for autonomous mobility providers, particularly as fleets grow from limited pilots to commercial networks serving thousands of daily trips.
AI Models Drive Autonomous Decision-Making
CaoCao’s autonomous driving platform forms part of Geely Holding Group’s RoboX strategy, which integrates intelligent vehicles, AI-powered driving systems, and fleet operations into a unified mobility platform.
The company said its autonomous driving stack is built on an end-to-end large model architecture, a growing approach within the autonomous vehicle industry that uses deep learning models to process sensor inputs and generate driving decisions with fewer manually engineered rules.
Unlike traditional autonomous driving systems that separate perception, prediction, planning, and control into independent modules, end-to-end AI models aim to optimise the entire driving pipeline simultaneously. Developers believe this approach can improve vehicle performance in dense urban environments where traffic patterns, pedestrians, cyclists, and road conditions constantly change.
Large-scale data collection and continuous model optimisation remain central to improving perception accuracy, route planning, and real-time decision-making across increasingly complex driving scenarios.
Purpose-Built Robotaxi Targets Commercial Scale
Beyond software development, CaoCao has also contributed to the design of Eva Cab, described as China’s first purpose-built Robotaxi developed specifically for autonomous ride-hailing rather than adapted from a conventional passenger vehicle.
The vehicle has already been unveiled and is scheduled to enter mass production in 2027, supporting Geely’s broader ambition to commercialise autonomous transportation on a larger scale.
Purpose-built Robotaxis are becoming a growing industry trend as manufacturers seek to optimise cabin design, sensor placement, maintenance efficiency, and passenger experience specifically for autonomous operations.
Autonomous Mobility Race Intensifies
CaoCao’s latest milestone comes as the global Robotaxi industry continues evolving from research projects into commercial mobility services. Companies including Waymo, Baidu Apollo Go, Pony.ai, WeRide, Tesla, and Zoox are expanding autonomous vehicle programmes across multiple cities, supported by rapid advances in artificial intelligence, high-performance computing, and sensor technology.
According to McKinsey & Company, autonomous mobility could become a multi-billion-dollar market over the next decade as advances in AI, regulations, and purpose-built vehicle platforms improve commercial viability. IDC also expects enterprise investment in AI-powered automation to continue accelerating, with transportation emerging as one of the fastest-growing application areas.
For CaoCao, the transition to driverless testing represents more than a technology demonstration. It marks the next phase of building an integrated autonomous mobility platform that combines AI, intelligent vehicles, cloud operations, and fleet management. As testing expands into additional cities and more complex traffic environments, the company aims to move Robotaxis from technical validation toward scalable commercial deployment, reinforcing China’s position as one of the world’s most active autonomous driving markets.
Market Landscape
The global autonomous vehicle sector is entering a new phase as companies shift from supervised testing to commercial deployment. Advances in generative AI, end-to-end driving models, high-performance AI chips from NVIDIA, and cloud infrastructure from Google Cloud, Microsoft Azure, and Amazon Web Services (AWS) are accelerating the development of autonomous mobility platforms. Gartner expects AI-driven automation to remain a leading enterprise investment priority, while McKinsey estimates autonomous mobility could reshape urban transportation over the next decade as regulatory approvals and purpose-built vehicle platforms mature.
Top Insights
- CaoCao has launched driverless Robotaxi testing in Hangzhou, marking its transition from supervised autonomous driving to fully driverless operations in controlled urban environments.
- Every Robotaxi is connected to the Zhixing RAS Remote Safety Service Platform, enabling continuous monitoring, remote assistance, emergency response, and operational oversight for autonomous fleet management.
- The initiative forms part of Geely Holding Group’s RoboX strategy, integrating purpose-built autonomous vehicles, end-to-end AI driving models, and intelligent fleet operations into a unified mobility platform.
- CaoCao plans to mass-produce the Eva Cab Robotaxi in 2027, supporting large-scale commercial deployment of autonomous ride-hailing services across domestic and international markets.
- The announcement highlights growing competition in China’s Robotaxi sector as autonomous mobility providers accelerate commercial deployment using AI-powered driving technologies.
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