Chinese tech giant Baidu.com (NASDAQ:BIDU) said it has slashed the price of its robotaxi vehicles by nearly half.
The new electric vehicle, the Apollo RT6, is to cost 250,000 yuan (about £31,000/US$37,000) to manufacture without relying on a third party.
The price is 48% cheaper than the 480,000 yuan manufacturing cost announced last year for the Apollo Moon, which was manufactured in partnership with state-owned BAIC Group’s Arcfox electric car brand.
Baidu intends to produce 100,000 Apollo RT6 vehicles over an unspecified period.
"This massive cost reduction will enable us to deploy tens of thousands of (autonomous driving vehicles) across China," Baidu chief executive Robin Li said.
"We are moving towards a future where taking a robotaxi will be half the cost of taking a taxi today."
Apollo RT6 will reportedly begin operating on Chinese roads in the second half of next year under Baidu's self-driving robotaxi programme.
Driverless but humans still needed
In November, Beijing city approved Apollo Go, the company's robotaxi business, to begin charging fares for rides in suburban districts, though the car would need to be occupied by a human staff member.
In April, the municipality loosened restrictions on whether the staff member needed to sit in the driver's seat, paving the way to eliminate the cost of taxi drivers.
There is no clear indication however, of when the Chinese government will permit robotaxis to charge fares without human staff.
As the Apollo RT6 will no longer need a steering wheel to drive, it comes with a detachable one.
Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F) and General Motors Company (NYSE:GM) have similar plans for their self-driving cars.
US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration documents reportedly reveal that automakers have asked regulators for permission to remove the steering wheel or other traditional car features from their fleets.