Geely debuts EVA Cab autonomous concept

Geely Auto Group used Auto China 2026 in Beijing to show how it wants autonomous ride-hailing vehicles to look if they are designed for that job from the beginning. On April 24, the company unveiled the EVA Cab with AFARI Technology and CaoCao Mobility, describing it as China’s first purpose-built robotaxi prototype. Geely framed the vehicle as part of its broader “Full-Domain AI 2.0” push, alongside battery, charging and in-car software technologies. El Financiero, which visited Geely facilities in China and covered the show on May 20, said the vehicle was aimed at urban mobility use. ### Why is this different from most robotaxis already on the road? Geely said the EVA Cab was created as a robotaxi from scratch, rather than converted from an existing passenger car. That is the central distinction in the launch: the vehicle is not a sedan or SUV retrofitted with sensors, but a dedicated autonomous-use concept built around a ride-hailing service model. El Financiero described it the same way, saying it was designed exclusively for driverless operation, unlike robotaxis adapted from conventional vehicles. (timesnewswire.com) The Beijing debut placed Geely alongside other Chinese groups trying to move autonomous driving from pilot programs toward fleet products. In Geely’s telling, the EVA Cab is meant to answer both an industry question — what a mass-deployable robotaxi should look like — and a passenger question about space, access and cabin layout. (timesnewswire.com) ### What does the vehicle actually look like? The EVA Cab uses wide-opening electric sliding doors and a face-to-face cabin layout, according to Geely’s event materials. Those features differ from the front-seat-centered design of ordinary passenger cars and suggest a vehicle arranged around short urban trips, easier entry and more usable interior room. (timesnewswire.com) Geely also highlighted interior features with concept-style names including “Galaxy Skyroof” ceiling, “Drifting Galaxy” door panels and “Orchid Pavilion and Meandering Streams” armrests. Those details came in the company’s launch description and underscored that the prototype was being presented not only as an autonomous platform but also as a new kind of passenger cabin. (timesnewswire.com) ### What technology did Geely say sits underneath it? Geely said the EVA Cab carries what it called a “Quantum-Level AI Electronic and Electrical Architecture,” a 2160-line digital LiDAR system and a mass-production-ready L4-level assisted driving software solution. Those are company claims, and Geely presented them as evidence that the prototype combines hardware, software and vehicle-cloud systems in one platform. (timesnewswire.com) The company also said the vehicle uses three chips — NVIDIA SuperChip, NVIDIA Thor U and Qualcomm Snapdragon 8397 — for combined computing power of more than 3,000 TOPS. Geely said that level of processing is intended to support Level 4 autonomous driving in more demanding operating conditions. ### Where does CaoCao Mobility fit in? (timesnewswire.com) CaoCao Mobility was presented at the launch as the operating-side partner, not just a branding add-on. Geely introduced the EVA Cab jointly with AFARI Technology and CaoCao Mobility, and outside coverage described CaoCao as Geely’s ride-hailing and shared-mobility arm. That matters because the concept was shown as a fleet vehicle for service deployment, not as a consumer model for private ownership. (thedriven.io) A Geely-linked report carried by Gulf Times said a CaoCao Mobility-customized EVA Cab is expected to launch in 2027. Geely’s own main release visible on its global site described the prototype as “production-ready,” though it did not, in the excerpt available, give a retail timetable. ### What should readers watch next? (timesnewswire.com) The next concrete milestone is 2027, when a customized EVA Cab for CaoCao Mobility is expected to launch, according to Geely-linked coverage after the Beijing show. Until then, the clearest public markers are likely to come from Geely, AFARI Technology and CaoCao Mobility as they provide more detail on deployment plans, operating cities and the production version of the vehicle. (gulf-times.com)