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Wall Street Journal
5 days ago
- Automotive
- Wall Street Journal
Chinese Robotaxi Companies Look to the Middle East for Growth
Chinese robotaxi makers want to bring their self-driving cars abroad. Facing regulatory and geopolitical obstacles in some markets, they are finding the welcome mat out in the Middle East. Baidu's BIDU 1.42%increase; green up pointing triangle Apollo Go, WeRide WRD -1.01%decrease; red down pointing triangle and Pony AI PONY -9.40%decrease; red down pointing triangle—the 'Big Three' of China's autonomous driving scene–have announced plans to expand in the Middle East, looking to replicate the success they have had in China. Chinese companies entering the Gulf region are attracted by the area's openness to new technologies. 'The ambitious push by many Gulf authorities towards smart transportation, coupled with the high density of the urban population, makes it a prime location for the deployment of autonomous vehicles,' said Liang Zhang, regional general manager at Baidu's autonomous-driving unit Apollo Go. Saudi Arabia aims to have autonomous vehicles powering 15% of public transport by 2030, while Dubai and Abu Dhabi have similar targets. China-U.S. trade tensions provide Chinese companies with further incentive to seek alternative markets, a trend that began during the first trade war under the Trump administration in 2018. 'The Middle East is a region that is friendly to both the U.S. and Chinese governments, and companies,' said Ming Lee, head of Greater China autos and industrials research at BofA Global. The Middle Eastern governments' tech-forward stance makes for more robotaxi-friendly regulations that resemble China's rather than the stricter approach seen in Europe and the U.S., said James Liu, Deutsche Bank's head of diversified industrials group in Asia. Tapping into the Middle East would also help WeRide, Pony AI and Apollo Go reach the scale that they need to hit profitability. Nasdaq-listed WeRide said in May that it will expand into Saudi Arabia in partnership with Uber Technologies, securing an extra $100 million investment from the U.S. ride-hailing giant. The two already operate a service in Abu Dhabi. Silicon Valley-founded Pony AI has also teamed up with Uber for a Middle East rollout, and is launching driverless taxi services with Dubai's Roads and Transport Authority. Apollo Go plans to deploy 100 robotaxis in Dubai by end-2025 with the transport authority, eyeing at least 1,000 over the next three years. It has a tie-up with United Arab Emirates-based Autogo in Abu Dhabi too. If Chinese robotaxi companies' forays in the Middle East succeed, they can replicate the expansion in other major markets, said BofA Global's Lee. Reaching critical mass won't be easy. Fleet coverage has to grow to cater to demand and reduce waiting times, said Allen Cheng, Goldman Sachs's head of Greater China technology research. China's robotaxi fleet, the world's biggest, stands at about 1,700. In the Middle East, that footprint is even smaller. Public figures on just how many robotaxis Pony AI, WeRide and Apollo Go have in the region aren't available. The region's fragmented geography presents another challenge. 'The robotaxi business is a really localized business,' WeRide Chief Executive Tony Han said after a recent trip to the U.A.E., during which he jetted back and forth between Abu Dhabi and Dubai, talking to officials about regulatory permits and constraints. 'You have to understand local traffic rules, local driving behavior.' Getting the public to accept the safety of driverless cars could also be tricky, even with the support of local authorities. Still, Chinese robotaxi companies have a big advantage over rivals when it comes to the Middle East, thanks to comprehensive supply chains that offer scope to keep lowering costs. Pony AI, WeRide and Apollo Go have all developed robotaxis with an upfront cost of $30,000-$50,000 per vehicle, a fraction of the price of robotaxis from U.S. players such as Alphabet's Waymo, Deutsche Bank's Liu said. If Chinese companies maintain their cost advantage and there aren't any major safety incidents, Deutsche Bank analysts expect to see a strong Chinese presence in non-U.S. markets. As auto supply chains increasingly split into the U.S. versus the rest of the world, it is inevitable that Chinese firms will rise to the top, said Liu. Write to Jiahui Huang at
Forbes
27-03-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Higher Education's Big Test: Proving The Value Of College Degrees
To meet today's economic demands, education and training after high school must deliver greater ... More value. At a time of great uncertainty for higher education, this much is clear: Our challenges won't go away until we face the big, hairy questions about the value of college degrees. People have been telling us that they have doubts about the high costs of college, the time it takes to earn a degree, and whether it all pays off when they're looking for better jobs. Over the past decades, the country has made significant progress in expanding access to college, creating more opportunities for veterans, women, Black students and other students of color, people from low-income households, and others. Leaders have also recognized the need for a greater focus on supporting students once they start programs so that their efforts result in earning degrees and other credentials. But to meet the demands of today's economy, education and training after high school must deliver greater value. This will take a real redesign of higher education to meaningfully address concerns and create a system that works better for everyone. Video: Jamie Merisotis talks about improving the value of college degrees. Studies consistently show the economic return on college degrees. A report published in the American Educational Research Journal found that on average, a bachelor's degree yields a return on investment of about 10 percent annually over a person's lifetime—better than the stock market, argues Liang Zhang, professor of higher education at NYU and one of the study's authors. There are other benefits: People with college degrees report being happier, tend to be more involved in their communities, and actually live longer. But to reap the rewards, learning after high school also requires a substantial upfront investment—in time, money, and effort. For many Americans, that's enough to tip the scales. The value of credentials also depends on the majors or the training programs that students choose. The seed of doubt grows when learning doesn't translate to real-world work—or when not everyone sees their credentials pay off. In a survey last year by the think tank Third Way, only half of registered voters said they believe students have all the information they need to decide which college, university, or vocational school will provide the best return on investment. 'Voters still see the value of a college education and its connection to a secure financial future but recognize that changes are needed to maintain that positive ROI for future generations,' the Third Way report said. The return-on-investment calculation can mean something different to everybody: It could be a low-cost, short-term credential with a high financial return. It could be a degree that unlocks doors to specialized careers. Or, for some, a rich return on investment could mean learning the skills they need to change the world for good. 'For families, when I talk to them—yes, it's about getting the degree, but it's also about economic independence and economic mobility,' California State University Chancellor Mildred García said in a recent conversation with the Gates Foundation about college value. 'In other words, we're going to make sure that that's no longer an issue so that you can use your talents to help your community, to help your city, to help your state.' To maximize the return, we can and must improve on both sides of the equation. When the investment is widely seen as far too high—too expensive, too time-consuming, too complicated and inflexible—it won't matter how good the returns are. People are demanding affordable pathways that can fit busy lives and support the needs of all students to be successful. The National Conference of State Legislatures' Task Force on Higher Education released a report last fall detailing recommendations for improving higher ed's value. The bipartisan task force recommends, for example, that colleges make it easier for students to transfer between institutions and receive credit for what they already know. It also calls for stronger alignment between education and the workforce, to equip students with in-demand skills that will help them adapt in a rapidly changing economy. 'This task force believes that higher education must adapt to meet the reality of today's students and the new expectations that the public has of higher education,' the report noted. Those expectations are growing—and they may still change, as Gen Z and Gen Alpha bring their own perspectives on what they value. Students and families have reasonable questions about the economic value of education, and we should rethink our conception of what success looks like: It's not enough to point to increased enrollment or even the improved number of adults with credentials, which has risen from 38 percent to nearly 55 percent since 2008. Along with emphasizing education's wider social benefits, it's time we focused on credentials of value. Based on what we can measure now, value can be quantified through wages. It's reasonable to expect degrees, certificates, and industry certifications should yield earnings at least 15 percent higher than those of a high school diploma alone. We also need to add new measurements of value to assess how credentials can lead to better jobs and life outcomes. By defining more clearly what we mean by high-quality credentials, we can work toward getting the most value possible from our vital investments in education. This is one of those cases where we tend to improve the things we measure. Americans are demanding improvement in higher education. They're right, and this will help us get there.
