At 1 p.m. on the 26th last month (local time), in the busy streets of Pudong, Shanghai. A white midsize sedan pulled over by the roadside. Upon getting in, an empty driver's seat and a large tablet screen greeted us. After fastening the seat belt, the ride began with a chime.
About five seconds after it started moving, the vehicle made a sudden stop. It was to let a fast-approaching car in the target lane pass first during the lane entry. The vehicle then resumed stable driving, kept a safe distance and obeyed the speed limit, then again decelerated quickly. As it entered a four-lane intersection, it detected that only 2 seconds remained on the go signal and slowed to stop behind the stop line.
During the roughly 30 minutes of driverless travel, we also saw it move to the edge of the lane to avoid a car crossing the centerline and driving against traffic, and change lanes to avoid a vehicle that slowed down after overtaking. When it reached the final destination, a chime sounded and a message on the tablet announced the end of the ride.
This is an unmanned robotaxi from Momenta, a Chinese Autonomous Driving company that partners with Hyundai Motor. It has secured licenses for unmanned pilot operations in Shanghai's Pudong, Suzhou, Wuxi, and Shenzhen, and is now conducting final internal tests with the goal of commercialization.
Momenta applies a "mapless" Autonomous Driving technology that does not rely on high-definition maps. Based on its self-developed World Model (a technology in which AI learns how the real world works to predict the future), the vehicle perceives and judges its surroundings in real time to drive. Because of this, the company said it can quickly adapt even in new areas or roads where high-definition maps have not been built.
A Momenta official said, "We applied the World Model to the robotaxi to strengthen its understanding and judgment of the real world," and noted, "The robotaxi not only understands police hand signals but can also respond flexibly to complex situations such as construction zones and accident scenes."
Another notable feature is that it realized Level 4 (L4) driverless operation using mass-produced cars. The vehicle we rode was not newly developed exclusively for robotaxi use, but a general mass-produced passenger car equipped with Momenta's Autonomous Driving system. Unlike some robotaxis that have equipment such as lidar and sensors mounted on the upper body, it looks like an ordinary mass-produced car for this reason. Momenta's strategy is to rapidly scale robotaxis by leveraging existing mass-produced car platforms.
Momenta's robotaxi is slated to be offered through SAIC Motor's mobility platform Xiangdao Chuxing. Once the official service begins, a partition will be installed at the driver's seat, and passengers will be allowed only in the back seat. Although one fewer passenger can ride, it is a safety measure to prevent manipulation of the driver's seat. Fares are undecided, but the plan is to set them at a more competitive level than regular taxis.
The operating range will gradually expand. A Momenta official said, "The current speed limit in the sections operating in Pudong is 60 kph," and added, "Separate qualifications are required to run on expressways and elevated roads, so we are in the process of obtaining them."
◇ Shanghai becomes an Autonomous Driving hub… robotaxi commercialization starts
Pudong in Shanghai, where we test-rode the Momenta robotaxi, is a vast testing ground for China's Autonomous Driving industry. Backed by government support, big tech and Autonomous Driving startups have gathered to continue experiments transporting passengers in driverless cars through real urban spaces connecting the airport, financial district, tourist sites, and residential areas.
Early this year, the Shanghai city government announced a plan to foster a "high-level Autonomous Driving pilot zone," expanding all of Pudong into an Autonomous Driving open area and setting a goal of increasing L4 Autonomous Driving passenger transport to more than 6 million people by 2027. It then plans to gradually expand the open areas, connecting from Pudong International Airport to the Hongqiao transport network and Disneyland via Autonomous Driving, and to open expressways and elevated roads in stages.
There is real commercialization competition in this area as well. Baidu's "Luobo Kuaipao" and Pony.ai's "Xiaoma Zhixing" are operating robotaxis carrying actual passengers in some sections.
◇ Stable driving even in the forest of office towers at rush hour… fares are "half the taxi price"
Around 6 p.m. the same day, we took a Xiaoma Zhixing robotaxi and rode about 4 kilometers from Pudong's busy forest of office buildings to a residential neighborhood during the evening rush.
After hailing a car through Xiaoma Zhixing's WeChat mini program, the robotaxi arrived at the pickup point in five minutes. When we tapped "unlock doors" in the app, the handle locks disengaged and we were able to board. After entering the last digits of a phone number into the tablet attached to the seat and tapping the "start ride" button, the ride began with guidance audio. Inside the car were a tablet showing traffic conditions, an emergency stop button, and a camera pointing at the front seats.
Even when other cars cut in quickly or when left and right turns and lane changes were repeated, we reached the destination without any particular issues. After drop-off, the robotaxi left without any additional steps. Compared with a regular taxi used the day before, the ride felt more stable and the interior more comfortable. Apart from having to unlock the door with the app when boarding, there was no notable inconvenience. The fare was 7 yuan (about 1,437 won), about one-third to half the taxi fare.
However, it did not yet seem to be at a stage where anyone could easily use it like a regular taxi. Xiaoma Zhixing operates only in parts of Pudong, and Luobo Kuaipao is also limited to certain areas in Pudong and Puxi. It cannot be used through general taxi-hailing apps and must be accessed via each company's WeChat mini program.
Even so, local residents were highly interested. Middle-aged men gathered around after seeing the reporter get out of the robotaxi, asking in succession, "Is it really an unmanned Autonomous Driving car?" "How is the ride feel?" "How much is the fare?" A middle-aged woman who passed by watched the vehicle closely and asked, "Is it actually commercialized now?" When told that the fare is cheaper than a taxi, they immediately fiddled with their phones, asking, "How can we use it?" Rather than treating the robotaxi as a strange technology accompanied by risk, they appeared to accept it as a transport option they could actually try.
An industry source there said, "We are past the stage of asking whether unmanned robotaxi operations are 'possible,'" and added, "The key from now on is how safely and cheaply they can serve wider areas."