China is the country most prepared for self-driving cars, according to a new report.
The new study by the B2B car company eCarsTrade analyzed robotaxi deployment, road infrastructure, legal frameworks, and public sentiment across 15 countries to see which nations are actually putting driverless vehicles on the road.
Driven by massive robotaxi deployment, nearuniversal 5G coverage, and advanced regulations that allow fully driverless commercial service, China ranks first.
The United States follows, with Waymo completing about 500,000 paid rides weekly.
New Zealand and Canada lag behind, with limited testing and less developed legal frameworks.
The study looked at four key areas, reflecting the self-driving environment. Adoption measured how many robotaxis are actually carrying paying passengers today, not just announcements or pilot programs. Infrastructure assessed road quality, 5G coverage and EV charging networks.
Legal frameworks captured whether countries have passed laws allowing commercial driverless operations, and public sentiment was drawn from surveys and Reddit analysis across 76 threads. Driver‐assist systems like Tesla Autopilot were excluded because they still require a human driver behind the wheel.
China
- Robotaxi status: Yes for Apollo Go, Pony.ai, WeRide
- Safety driver: Not used for Apollo Go
- Road quality: 4.8 out of 7
- 5G coverage: 96 percent
- Electric vehicle chargers: 3 million+
- Legal category: Advanced
China is the world leader in self‐driving readiness, with more than 17 million robotaxi rides recorded. Apollo Go operates fully driverless vehicles without anyone behind the steering wheel, and 5G covers 96 percent of the population, giving autonomous vehicles the low‐latency connections they need.
Road quality is average, scoring 4.8 out of 7, but the sheer scale of deployment outweighs infrastructure limits. Plus, China has more than 3 million EV chargers, making it easier for electric robotaxi fleets to operate.
United States
The United States ranks second, with Waymo completing about 500,000 paid rides every week. That is roughly 26 million rides per year, making it the largest commercial robotaxi service outside China.
Waymo operates fully driverless vehicles with no safety driver, and road quality scores are high at 5.6 out of 7.
The US has nearly 200,000 EV chargers and advanced federal and state laws that allow autonomous vehicles to operate commercially.
Public sentiment is more mixed than in China or Singapore, with Reddit threads showing strong concerns about blocked roads, emergency response, and the distinction between remote assistance and true autonomy.
Singapore
Singapore takes third place, with the highest road quality score in the study at 6.7, meaning its streets are in excellent condition for autonomous vehicles.
5G coverage reaches 95 percent of the population, and the legal framework is fully advanced. Robotaxi deployment is more limited than in China or the US, with most services using shuttles or smaller vehicles that often still require a safety driver.
Singapore’s approach is methodical, as it’s building world‐class infrastructure and letting the technology catch up.
Germany
Germany ranks fourth, as the first country in the world to legally permit Level 4 autonomous vehicles on public roads. Roads are easy to navigate, with good pavement (scoring 5.9 out of 7), and 5G covers 90 percent of the population. The country has 130,000 EV chargers, a solid base for electric autonomous fleets.
However, large‐scale robotaxi deployment has not yet arrived. The law is in place, but the fleets are still coming.
United Arab Emirates
The UAE rounds out the top five, with Abu Dhabi operating fully driverless commercial robotaxis through a partnership between WeRide and Uber.
Road quality is excellent at 6.4 out of 7, and 5G covers 99 percent of the population, the highest in the top five. The legal framework is advanced, and public acceptance is strong.
The UAE has fewer than 2,000 EV chargers, which is a fraction of what China or the US has, but the country is small and densely populated, so scaling charging infrastructure is easier.
A real gear-shift
An auto expert from eCarsTrade commented on the study: “The autonomous vehicle industry has spent years debating what is possible. The real shift happened when companies stopped talking and started picking up paying passengers.
“A robotaxi in a closed test track is a science project. A robotaxi carrying a real person across a busy city is a business.
“The technology improves faster when it faces real streets, real weather, and real impatient drivers. Simulation and controlled tests only take you so far. The rest comes from real rides, real mistakes, and real fixes.”
Main image: Montage of UAE cityscape, created using Easy-Peasy.ai
