At the 2022 Baidu World Conference held on July 21, Baidu demonstrated a major breakthrough in autonomous driving technology with the debut of the sixth-generation mass-produced unmanned vehicle Apollo RT6, which costs just 250,000 yuan ($37075).

Apollo RT6 at 2022 Baidu World Conference [Photo/kfqgw.beijing.gov.cn]

The Apollo RT6 is a mass-produced vehicle independently developed and designed by Baidu for future travel. It supports two modes: steering wheel and no steering wheel. 

The vehicle has achieved 100 percent vehicle level and full vehicle redundancy system. Compared with the modified cars on the market, the reliability of the vehicle is much higher.

How can the cost be as low as 250,000 yuan? Baidu remarked that this was mainly due to lower costs of complete vehicles and autonomous driving kits, as well as the complete supply chain and manufacturing in China.

According to the plan, tens of thousands of Apollo RT6 swill be be put into use nationwide in 2023.

Future urban intelligent transportation will not only needs smart cars, but also demands intelligent roads. 

According to the latest data disclosed at the conference, Baidu's intelligent transportation solution has been practiced and verified in more than 50 cities across the country, including Beijing E-Town.

The construction of intelligent intersections will allow citizens to travel with little to no traffic. Intelligent transportation based on vehicle-road coordination can increase traffic efficiency by 15 percent to 30 percent, and promote an absolute growth of GDP of 2.4 percent to 4.8 percent per year, according to Baidu.