On July 24, as reported by the Securities Times, SAIC Motor, a leading Chinese autonomous driving company, has been granted a license to operate autonomous taxis (Robotaxi) in Shanghai. The company plans to launch the service to the public in August.
This announcement comes on the heels of the 2024 World Artificial Intelligence Conference, where several companies, including SAIC Motor, Pony.ai, and Baidu Apollo, were licensed to operate unmanned intelligent networked vehicles in Shanghai.
SAIC Motor’s CTO, Yu Qiankun, shared that their Robotaxi service has been under testing for a year in Shanghai’s Lingang New Area, a region spanning approximately 68 square kilometers. Each “R” marker on the app indicates a pick-up point. To date, the service has logged over 300,000 kilometers, with a safety officer present in the passenger seat during this testing phase.
Chen Guofa, Operations Director at SAIC Motor, anticipates that as the service moves from demonstration to operation, the in-car safety officer will be phased out. Future safety measures will include remote supervision and grid management to ensure the autonomous taxis’ safety.
In other news, SAIC Motor is set to inaugurate a dedicated route connecting Lingang to Pudong Airport in August. The first fleet will consist of 20 vehicles that have already received their operational qualifications.
As the service is still in its demonstration phase, the company will not charge any fees, offering free rides to passengers. This development signifies that ordinary citizens in Shanghai will soon be able to book rides in L4 level autonomous taxis through various companies’ online platforms.
SAIC Motor has spent three years developing its L4 level autonomous driving technology, successfully completing three generations of L4 level intelligent driving projects. The company has managed to achieve city-wide operations in places like Shanghai and Suzhou.
At a national level, China is actively promoting intelligent driving. On June 4, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology announced a pilot program for the admission and road traffic of intelligent networked vehicles. Nine companies have been selected for the first batch of this program. The pilot cities include Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Chongqing, Zhengzhou, and Danzhou in Hainan.
On June 24, several national departments, including the National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Commerce, issued a notice. They called for a steady progression towards the commercial operation of autonomous vehicles, aiming to create new scenarios for advanced intelligent driving.
SEE ALSO: Chinese Autonomous Driving Start-up Pony.ai Plans for a U.S. IPO
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