Chinese ride-hailing company CaoCao, backed by Geely, is betting on a heavy-asset strategy to emerge as a leading robotaxi operator, with plans to deploy 100,000 autonomous vehicles by 2030 as competition intensifies and self-driving technology matures.

In an interview with the South China Morning Post, CEO Gong Xin said the future of robotaxis hinged on an asset-management model built around a closed-loop “trinity” of vehicle manufacturing, autonomous driving technology and fleet operations.

The Hong Kong-listed firm is refining its level 4 autonomous system, with an initial fleet of 100 robotaxis which began operating in Hangzhou in late 2025. While most vehicles in China still require a human safety monitor, CaoCao is targeting fully driverless operations this year.

“Many local governments in China are highly supportive of L4-related applications, so I believe the technology is approaching a critical inflection point,” Gong said. On April 1, the company received approval to conduct unmanned road tests in Hangzhou, becoming the first to do so in the city.

The push comes amid intensifying competition with domestic rivals such as Pony.ai and WeRide, as the sector edges closer to large-scale commercialisation.

Central to CaoCao’s strategy is a “fully purpose-built robotaxi” developed over the past two years, designed from the ground up for autonomous driving with tightly integrated software.

The vehicles are expected to debut this year and enter mass production in the first half of 2027.