China's Self-Driving Revolution: Hengqin Island Opens All Roads to Robotaxis
Hengqin Island in Zhuhai opens entire road network for self-driving car tests. China's push towards autonomous driving technology in the Greater Bay Area. Shenzhen leads in robotaxi services with trials by Baidu and AutoX.
This move marks the latest step in China's embrace of autonomous driving technology.
The Hengqin Cooperation Zone, a vital economic area between Macau and Guangdong province, has designated 330 km of highways for autonomous car trials. This effort seeks to establish the Greater Bay Area as a major hub for self-driving technologies.
Since September 2022, Hengqin has gradually opened up parts of its road network to autonomous driving. The current certification now includes the remaining 135km, which encompasses a variety of traffic circumstances. This decision is meant to help self-driving car makers improve their algorithms by collecting substantial road data.
Furthermore, by opening up the complete road network for self-driving tests, Hengqin intends to attract additional self-driving car firms and research institutions, resulting in a vibrant intelligent driverless vehicle industry cluster within the cooperation zone.
In China, several towns are extending opportunities for autonomous driving trials. Shenzhen, a city in Guangdong, has been in the forefront of robotaxi services, with experiments underway since 2021. Notably, Baidu's robotaxi service Apollo Go has conducted trials in Shenzhen's Nanshan and Pingshan districts, while AutoX now provides public robotaxi services in Pingshan.
Shenzhen intends to launch a fleet of 20 autonomous buses in Qianhai district by the end of the year, serving key locations including as subway stations, commercial zones, industrial parks, residential neighbourhoods and tourism attractions. Additionally, cities including as Beijing, Shanghai, and Wuhan have allowed self-driving car testing within their territories.
Wuhan recently approved roughly 500 driverless taxis from Baidu to operate on 35% of the city's highways, including the downtown area. Beijing enables autonomous car testing, with businesses such as Baidu, Pony.ai, WeRide, and AutoX focussing on the Daxing region and providing services such as passenger shuttles between Beijing Daxing International Airport and the Yizhuang neighbourhood.
Baidu, AutoX, Pony.ai, and SAIC AI Lab have been granted licences to operate robotaxis in Shanghai's Pudong financial area. Despite advancements, the commercial sustainability of robotaxis in China is still a work in progress, with corporations substantially subsidising services to entice passengers, creating concerns about job security among taxi operators.
Hengqin Island in Zhuhai opens entire road network for self-driving car tests
China's push towards autonomous driving technology in the Greater Bay Area
Shenzhen leads in robotaxi services with trials by Baidu and AutoX
Source: SCMP