State policies set to challenge and guide autonomous driving

Ministry of Science and Technology announces rules designed to push technology's limits

China has recently rolled out a slew of policies designed to regulate the development of autonomous driving, which analysts say are paving the way for the technology's healthy advancement and commercialization in the world's largest vehicle market.

Last week, the Ministry of Science and Technology said in a notice that it will support the construction of 10 major artificial intelligence application scenarios, with autonomous driving being one of them.

It will encourage tests of conditional autonomous driving at complex road sections including crossroads to speed up the development of driverless logistics vehicles on expressways, high-level autonomous driving vehicles, smart internet-connected buses as well as autonomous valet parking.

The notice came within a week of the release of China's first national draft guideline on the use of autonomous driving vehicles for public transport, issued by the Ministry of Transport.

In the guideline, the ministry said it will encourage the adoption of autonomous buses in enclosed Bus Rapid Transit or BRT systems, and allow autonomous vehicles to offer taxi services under simple and relatively controllable scenarios.

Analysts said the rules on self-driving vehicles are expected to better regulate the industry, providing a reference and guidance for their development and commercialization.

Technology companies have been exploring the potential of the cutting-edge technology and testing vehicles on the road.

Apollo Go, Baidu's autonomous ride-hailing service arm, is testing its robotaxi fleets in designated areas in around 10 cities across the country.

As the world's largest autonomous mobility services provider, it has driven passengers for over 1 million trips free of charge.

In July, Beijing launched China's first pilot area for commercial autonomous driving vehicle services in its southern suburb of Yizhuang.

Apollo and Pony.ai, another major autonomous driving startup, were the first enterprises granted permission to offer paid services.

Earlier this month, local authorities in Wuhan, capital of Hubei province, and Chongqing offered permits to the companies for charging passengers in driverless vehicles.

Now Apollo Go, like taxi companies, is providing paid services in the two megacities, with five self-driving vehicles running in each city, without drivers or safety operators sitting behind the steering wheel.

Lyu Jinghong, an intelligent mobility analyst at research firm BloombergNEF, said more Chinese cities are expected to follow suit by allowing for robotaxi tests and commercialization, which will help autonomous driving developers improve their technologies and explore business models.

BloombergNEF estimated that China will operate the world's largest robotaxi fleet with about 12 million units by 2040, followed by the United States, with around 7 million autonomous vehicles.