Chinese tech giant Baidu secured the first approval from Hong Kong authorities to trial its autonomous taxi service in the city of 7.5 million.

Hong Kong’s Transport Department issued the company with five-year licences for ten autonomous vehicles to operate in North Lantau, the largest of Hong Kong islands where its airport is located.

The department stated the permits are designed to pave the way for wider use of autonomous vehicles in Hong Kong, with the aim to connect the airport with a new development nearby, followed by Tung Chung city in the future.

Earlier in the year, the department introduced a code of practice for trial and pilot use of autonomous vehicles to provide guidance to the industry in technical, safety and operational aspect.

Baidu’s Apollo Go service is limited to a single vehicle at a time on a round-trip route from the airport to a nearby car park between 01:00 and 05:00 and 10:00 and 16:00.

The company completed more than 8 million driverless journeys in a number of Chinese cities, including Wuhan, Chongqing and Beijing.

Baidu was awarded the first driverless permits in China for autonomous taxi services in Beijing in 2022, allowing the removal of a safety operator.