China grants driverless testing approval to nine manufacturers
China announced that it will allow 9 automobile manufacturers to test driverless vehicles and autonomous driving technologies.
According to the statement made by the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, pilot projects will be launched in 7 cities, including Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, to test advanced autonomous driving technologies in real road conditions.
Nine automobile manufacturers, including state-owned Changan Automobile, GAC and SAIC, and private companies such as BYD and Nio, will be able to test autonomous driving technologies in these projects.
Apart from automobile manufacturers, fleet businesses such as mobile taxi companies will also participate in the tests.
In the pilot project phase, which aims to test smart vehicles in different categories, from passenger cars to buses and trucks, the vehicles will be subject to strict technical and safety evaluations.
The test data is intended to provide guidance on how vehicles in this category, called “intelligent connected vehicles (ICV)”, can be adapted to existing traffic systems and increase road safety.
China became the leader in exports last year
China’s autonomous driving standards define 6 levels, from 0, which is completely manual, to 5, which is completely automatic.
Levels 1 and 2 are partial automation, level 3 is conditional automation with a driver but includes autonomous driving elements, and level 4 is driverless but defines a high level of automation in which the pilot can intervene.
China, which exported 4.91 million automobiles in 2023, became the world’s largest automobile exporter, leaving Japan behind.
The increase in electric vehicle production and exports was effective in the country’s rise to leadership in the automotive industry in a year when its general exports decreased.
While electric vehicle production in China increased to 9.58 million and sales to 9.49 million in 2023, the country maintained its leading position in the global market in this category for the 9th year in a row.
The revenues of Chinese automobile manufacturers increased by 11.9 percent compared to the previous year, reaching 10.1 trillion yuan (about 139 billion dollars) in 2023.