EVA Cab completes pilot validation testing in Hangzhou and Suzhou

Geely said on Friday that its EVA Cab robotaxi had completed pilot validation testing in Hangzhou and Suzhou, adding a new milestone to the Chinese automaker’s push into autonomous ride-hailing. The company has presented the vehicle as a production-focused, Level-4 robotaxi developed for fully driverless operation rather than as a retrofit of an existing passenger car. Geely showed the EVA Cab at Auto China 2026 in Beijing in April as part of a broader display of its artificial-intelligence and electric-vehicle technology. Company materials and subsequent media reports said commercial launch plans point to 2027, with larger-scale deployment after that. ### Why are Hangzhou and Suzhou part of this announcement? Hangzhou and Suzhou were the two cities Geely cited as sites where the EVA Cab underwent pilot validation testing before any wider rollout. La Razón, citing Geely’s Auto China presentation, reported on May 15 that the vehicle had already been validated in pilot trials in those cities. Electrive, reporting from the Beijing show on April 29, said Geely had described the vehicle as tested in pilot projects by CaoCao Mobility in Hangzhou and Suzhou. (razon.com.mx) Hangzhou is also Geely’s home base, which gives the company an established operating footprint there. Geely says it is based in Hangzhou, China, and CaoCao Mobility is the group’s ride-hailing arm that is expected to operate the robotaxi service. ### What exactly is the EVA Cab? The EVA Cab is a purpose-built robotaxi prototype with Level-4 autonomous-driving capability, according to Geely-linked materials released around Auto China 2026. (razon.com.mx) La Razón described it as “the first robotaxi designed in China with a production focus” and said it was equipped for Level-4 autonomous driving. A GlobeNewswire-distributed release carried by Markets Insider said the vehicle was developed from the ground up for autonomous-driving operation scenarios and customized for CaoCao. (global.geely.com) Electrive reported that the minivan-shaped vehicle has no driver’s seat, steering wheel or pedals, and uses Geely’s EEA 4.0 architecture with a central supercomputer processing data from a LiDAR system. The same report said the cabin has four seats arranged face-to-face. ### Who is supposed to run the service? CaoCao Mobility is the named operating partner tied most closely to EVA Cab’s deployment plans. (razon.com.mx) At Auto China, Geely, AFARI Technology and CaoCao Mobility jointly unveiled the vehicle, according to press-release reports carried by third-party outlets. Those reports said the project combines Geely’s vehicle-development and manufacturing capabilities with CaoCao’s ride-hailing operating experience. (electrive.com) Gong Xin, chief executive of CaoCao, told Reuters during the Beijing auto show that large-scale delivery and deployment of the Geely-made EVA Cab was expected in 2028, before the fleet expands to 100,000 vehicles by 2030. Reuters also reported that services were expected to launch as early as 2027 in Abu Dhabi, Hong Kong and five cities on the Chinese mainland. (timesnewswire.com) ### Why does Geely call it production-focused? April 24 was the date Geely and its partners used to frame EVA Cab as a robotaxi built from the outset for autonomous commercial service rather than adapted from a retail model. The Markets Insider-carried release said the vehicle was developed “from the ground up” exclusively for autonomous-driving scenarios. Electrive contrasted that approach with many current robotaxis that are modified production vehicles. (finance.yahoo.com) That distinction matters to the companies because it affects layout, hardware and operating economics. Electrive reported that EVA Cab omits conventional driver controls and is tailored for ride-hailing use, while Gong Xin said the broader goal was to build a fleet that could scale through dedicated robotaxi design and operations. ### What comes next after the pilot-validation stage? (markets.businessinsider.com) The next dated milestone is 2027. La Razón reported that commercial launch is scheduled for that year, and the Markets Insider-carried release also said mass production is planned for 2027. Reuters then placed the larger fleet ramp a step later, with Gong Xin saying large-scale delivery and deployment should begin in 2028. (electrive.com) By 2030, CaoCao’s target is a fleet of 100,000 robotaxis, according to Gong Xin’s comments reported by Reuters and trade publication Electrive. The first markets named for service launch were Abu Dhabi, Hong Kong and five mainland Chinese cities, though the companies have not publicly listed all five mainland launch cities in the sources reviewed here. (finance.yahoo.com) (razon.com.mx)