萝卜快跑和Waymo两家全球领先的自动驾驶公司同期开启右舵左行交通体系的测试，标志着这一覆盖超20亿人口、70多个国家和地区的市场正式成为行业竞争高地。[1]
7月27日，萝卜快跑在香港机场岛启动了业界首个右舵左行交通体系下的车内无安全员全无人公开道路测试。[1]这是在香港运输署7月23日向其发放首张无人驾驶测试牌照之后的进一步突破。[1]萝卜快跑已在国内27座城市积累了3.3亿公里自动驾驶里程，其中2.2亿公里为全无人驾驶。[1]其自主研发的RT6车型单车成本为20多万人民币。[1]同一时期，Waymo也在伦敦启动了右舵市场的测试。[1]Waymo目前在美国每周拥有40万单付费订单，[1]2月获得160亿美元融资，公司估值达1260亿美元。[1]
右舵市场的竞争吸引力正不断提升。英国政府已将Robotaxi商业化试点时间表从2027年底提前至2026年春天。[1]高盛预测全球Robotaxi市场规模到2035年将达4150亿美元。[1]2026年前四个月全球自动驾驶私募交易总额已达233亿美元，超过2025年全年的两倍。[1]
On July 27, Baidu's Robotaxi subsidiary Apollo Go launched fully autonomous operations without safety drivers on public roads in Hong Kong, marking the first deployment of its kind in a right-hand drive, left-side traffic system.[1] The company had received Hong Kong's inaugural autonomous driving test license from the Transport Department on July 23.[1] Simultaneously, Waymo initiated testing in London's right-hand drive market, positioning the world's two leading Robotaxi operators for direct competition over a massive untapped region.[1]
The right-hand drive market encompasses over 70 countries and territories with a combined population exceeding 2 billion people—roughly one-third of the world's road systems—representing a critical frontier for autonomous vehicle expansion.[1] Apollo Go brings substantial operational experience to this market, having accumulated 330 million autonomous driving miles across 27 domestic Chinese cities, with 220 million miles logged without safety drivers.[1] The company's RT6 vehicle carries a unit cost of over 200,000 yuan.[1] Waymo, operating in the United States, currently processes 400,000 paid orders weekly and secured 16 billion dollars in funding in February at a valuation of 126 billion dollars.[1]
The accelerating investment landscape reflects growing confidence in the sector's commercialization timeline.[1] Global autonomous driving private equity transactions totaled 23.3 billion dollars in the first four months of 2026, more than double 2025's annual figure.[1] Goldman Sachs projects the global Robotaxi market will reach 415 billion dollars by 2035.[1] The United Kingdom has advanced its Robotaxi commercialization pilot timeline from late 2027 to spring 2026, further intensifying the race to establish early market presence.[1]
