Apolong

A 4.3 m electric minibus with no steering wheel or pedals, built by King Long in Xiamen around Baidu's Apollo self-driving software and seating up to 14 people. It was meant for geofenced places such as parks, airports and tourist sites.

Price: —not sold publicly; no price published
Autonomy: Level 4No driver needed in its area
Driverless: TestingDriverless tests only
Fleet: 100Reported; details below
Speed: —Not published
Range: 100 kmPer charge or tank

Compare with Xiaoyu (first generation)

Why it matters

Baidu and Gasgoo called it the first mass-produced Level 4 minibus when the 100th unit left King Long's Xiamen line in July 2018.

Real-world use

Trialled in parks and closed areas; Baidu said in August 2021 that Apolong had run in 22 city parks including Beijing, Guangzhou, Xiongan, Chongqing and Foshan.

Timeline

First shown: 2018-07-04
Released: 2018-07

Baidu Create 2018, Beijing (100th bus rolled off the line)

Maker

Baidu ApolloCompany

How it drives

Fleet and city figures move fast; each carries its date and who reported it.

Driverless status: Driverless tests only
Where it runs: Parks and closed areas in Beijing (Haidian Park trial, Nov 2018), Guangzhou, Xiongan, Chongqing, Foshan and others (Baidu via CnEVPost, Aug 2021)
Fleet: 100 units built by July 2018 (Baidu via TechCrunch); deployed in 22 city parks by Aug 2021 (Baidu via CnEVPost)
Rides, miles or loads: over 120,000 rides served by Aug 2021 (Baidu via CnEVPost)
SAE level: Level 4: drives itself with no one at the controls inside its approved area

Public attention

A historic robot: no longer sold or in use, so it is not ranked against current vehicles.

844 views of its Wikipedia article in the last 90 days (Apolong)
No recent press stories listed yet
5 reported deployments

Measures how much people read and write about a robot, not how good it is. Measured 2026-10-14; same method for every robot. How it is measured

What’s inside

No component details published yet.

Movement: Wheeled base
How it runs: Supervised. Works by itself while a person watches and steps in.

Lineage

Every Baidu Apollo with King Long (Xiamen King Long United Automotive) vehicle in order.

Made, sold and where

No production or sales figures published yet.

Price: Not publishednot sold publicly; no price published
How to get one: No official buying page found

Where it works

5 reported deployments.

Map

Deployed

Baidu Apollo with King Long · Beijing

Baidu said its first-generation Apolong minibus was running in city parks in Beijing, one of 22 parks across China. 22 city parks in total; over 120,000 rides (Baidu via CnEVPost, Aug 2021) CnEVPost
Deployed

Baidu Apollo with King Long · Guangzhou

Baidu said its first-generation Apolong minibus was running in city parks in Guangzhou, one of 22 parks across China. 22 city parks in total; over 120,000 rides (Baidu via CnEVPost, Aug 2021) CnEVPost
Deployed

Baidu Apollo with King Long · Xiong'an

Baidu said its first-generation Apolong minibus was running in city parks in Xiong'an, one of 22 parks across China. 22 city parks in total; over 120,000 rides (Baidu via CnEVPost, Aug 2021) CnEVPost
Deployed

Baidu Apollo with King Long · Chongqing

Baidu said its first-generation Apolong minibus was running in city parks in Chongqing, one of 22 parks across China. 22 city parks in total; over 120,000 rides (Baidu via CnEVPost, Aug 2021) CnEVPost
Deployed

Baidu Apollo with King Long · Foshan

Baidu said its first-generation Apolong minibus was running in city parks in Foshan, one of 22 parks across China. 22 city parks in total; over 120,000 rides (Baidu via CnEVPost, Aug 2021) CnEVPost

Side by side with its peers

Picked by the same rules for every robot: another maker’s robot that moves the same way, is at the same stage and does at least one of the same main jobs, first shown within two years. Closer size and price rank higher. How we choose

Full comparison

Measure	ApolongBaidu Apollo with King Long (Xiamen King Long United Automotive)	Xiaoyu (first generation)Yutong BusSame jobs: public transit, shuttle · Both on wheels · Both past robots	No public photo yetWe only show photos we're allowed to useAlphaba smart busShenzhen Haylion Technologies with Shenzhen Bus GroupSame job: public transit · Both on wheels · Both past robots	Turing Drive Xinyi Road autonomous busTuring DriveSame job: public transit · Both on wheels · Both past robots
First shown	2018-07-04	2019	2017-12-02	2020-05
Status	Discontinued	Retired	Retired	Retired
Height	—	—	—	—
Weight	—	—	—	—
Joints	—	—	—	—
Speed	—	—	40 km/h	20 km/h
Payload	—	—	—	—
Battery	—	—	—	—
Price	—	—	—	—

Sources

Figures come from press coverage. Every link below backs something on this page.

TechCrunch Baidu just made its 100th autonomous bus ahead of commercial launch in China Gasgoo Baidu mass-produced Apolong autonomous buses roll off production line Baidu Baidu Announces Second Quarter 2018 Results Gasgoo Baidu conducts trial operation of Apolong L4 autonomous bus in Beijing CnEVPost Baidu unveils Apolong II, its second-gen autonomous minibus

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