China announces mutual acceptance of self-driving vehicle permits in Greater Bay Area (19459000)
A Lexus RX equipped with Pony.ai’s self-driving technology. (Image credit: pony.ai) (19659003) The governments of major cities in China’s wealthy Guangdong Province announced on December 27 that they had struck a reciprocal recognition agreement for permissions to test autonomous vehicles. This marks a significant step forward in the adoption and development of autonomous vehicles in this region. Once they have a permit from the local government, companies will be able to test their robocars in the districts of Qianhai in Shenzhen and Bao’an, in Guangzhou’s Nansha district, and on Hengqin Island in Zhuhai. Hong Kong and Macau Special Administrative Regions are also expected join the agreement as part of a larger goal to establish China’s largest area for self driving car tests in Greater Bay Area which includes Guangdong. Hong Kong, Macau, and other special administrative regions. Pony.ai – a Nasdaq listed robotaxi developer – and Apollo Go – the autonomous ride-hailing service launched by Chinese tech giant Baidu – are among the first Chinese companies to benefit from the effort.
Pony.ai reported that it operates around 250 robotic taxis in an area of 2,000 square kilometres (772 square miles), including Beijing and Shanghai. It also said that 3,000 pickup and drop-off locations have been set up in Guangzhou, Shenzhen, and other top-tier Chinese cities. Reuters reported that the news came just one week after US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) proposed new rules to allow companies to commercialize and sell driverless cars more quickly. [TechNode reporting, 21st Century Business Herald, in Chinese, Reuters]
