While Chinese car economics are different from those in the...

While Chinese car economics are different from those in the west, and Chinese EVs cost less than in the USA, the ability to put together a nice EV along with all the compute and sensor suite for under $28,000 is a big step, and will eventually be duplicated around the world. Once you get the other factors of a robotaxi service (such as those depot operations listed) to work at scale, the largest cost of operating a robotaxi derives from depreciation of the vehicle, so the lower the vehicle cost, the lower the cost per ride. (This differs from regular taxis where the human driver is the largest cost.) In fact, once you start removing features for the driver (like wheels, pedals, adjustable seats and a complex dashboard) a robotaxi can cost less to make than a consumer car.


https://www.nytimes.com/video/business/100000009494790/china-robot-taxi-driverless.html

https://www.forbes.com/sites/bradtempleton/2024/05/14/baidu-launches-new-28000-robotaxi-in-wuhan/