Apollo Go, Chinese tech giant Baidu Inc's autonomous ride-hailing service, has received the first batch of fully driverless commercial permits issued by the Abu Dhabi Integrated Transport Centre in the United Arab Emirates, a move which industry experts said will bolster the commercialization of self-driving vehicles globally.

This marks the first large-scale public operation of Apollo Go's fully driverless robotaxi service outside of China, underscoring a key milestone in its global expansion strategy.

Under a next-phase agreement with AutoGo, a leading UAE-based autonomous mobility company, Apollo Go will scale its fleet to hundreds of vehicles by 2026, building what is expected to become Abu Dhabi's largest fully driverless fleet.

The permit authorizes Apollo Go to operate a fully driverless commercial robotaxi service for the public in Abu Dhabi. The move follows Apollo Go's strategic partnership with AutoGo in March to enter Abu Dhabi, and months of fully driverless testing on public roads.

The company said the next phase, focused on larger-scale operation, brings it one step closer to a future of safer, smarter and more sustainable transportation in the region.

To date, Apollo Go's total autonomous driving mileage has exceeded 240 million kilometers, with a global footprint spanning 22 cities and more than 17 million cumulative rides completed as of Oct 31.Looking ahead, Apollo Go and AutoGo plan to scale commercial robotaxi services to reach more users and advance Abu Dhabi's smart city vision.

Zhang Xiang, a visiting professor at the engineering department of Huanghe Science and Technology University, said there is surging demand for autonomous vehicles in overseas markets, especially the Middle East, which provides Chinese self-driving companies with broad development space.

Governments in the Middle East have a relatively open attitude toward autonomous driving vehicles and are promoting the testing and use of robotaxis thanks to technological advancements and cost reductions, he said.

China is taking the lead in the research and development, and application of self-driving technology, while the accelerated expansion of Chinese self-driving companies overseas will propel the large-scale commercial application of the cutting-edge technology on a global scale, he added.

Apollo Go has accelerated steps to expand its presence overseas in recent months. It has signed a strategic cooperation agreement with the Roads and Transport Authority of Dubai to launch autonomous driving testing and services in the city.

It also announced a strategic partnership with PostBus, the public transport operator subsidiary of Swiss Post in October, to roll out an on-demand autonomous mobility service in Switzerland. An initial trial fleet will begin testing in December, with phased expansion to roll out regular operations in the first quarter of 2027 at the latest.

The partnership with PostBus came after Baidu collaborated with Lyft, a global mobility platform, in August to deploy robotaxis across Europe starting from next year, and followed a deal with US-based ride-hailing service provider Uber to deploy thousands of its autonomous vehicles on the Uber platform across multiple overseas markets.

According to research company MarketsandMarkets, the scale of the global robotaxi market is expected to reach $45.7 billion by 2030, rapidly expanding at a compound annual growth rate of 91.8 percent from 2023 to 2030.

The growth of the robotaxi market is influenced by rising demand for ride-hailing services, high R&D investment and government focus on reducing emissions, infrastructure development and the growth of electric vehicles, according to the consultancy.

"Chinese self-driving enterprises have strong technical prowess and accumulated rich testing and operational experience in the domestic market. They aspire to play a bigger role in the international autonomous vehicle field by leveraging their strengths," said Zhu Keli, founding director of the China Institute of New Economy.