Shenzhen accelerates China’s self-driving car dreams

SHENZHEN, China, Aug 1 (Reuters) – On a busy downtown street, three delivery bikes suddenly cross the crosswalk in front of the car. On the car dashboard they look like little blue 3D blocks from a 90s video game.

The steering wheel turns just a notch and the vehicle slows to a smooth stop, while the safety driver watches from the passenger seat.

The vehicle is one of 100 sensor-laden robotaxis belonging to startup DeepRoute.ai that roam the dense Futian central business district in southern China’s tech hub Shenzhen, giving 50,000 test rides to passengers in the past year. .

While the United States is seen as taking the lead in testing autonomous vehicle (AV) technology, in Shenzhen the industry seems to be shifting gears, and test robotaxis are fast becoming commonplace.

Baidu Inc’s Apollo unit, Toyota Motor Corp-backed Pony, Nissan-backed Weride, Alibaba-backed Auto X and Deeproute have been conducting tests navigating the harsh city environment, with frequent reckless pedestrians and ubiquitous e-scooters.

Shenzhen, a city of 18 million people, has now introduced the clearest AV regulations in China. Starting Monday, registered AVs will be able to operate without a driver in the driver’s seat in a wide swath of the city, but a driver must still be present in the vehicle.

Until now, Chinese cities have allowed robot taxis to operate on a more limited basis with the permission of local authorities, but the Shenzhen regulations for the first time provide a crucial framework for liability in the event of an accident.

If the AV has a driver behind the wheel, the driver will be responsible in the event of an accident. If the car does not have a driver, the owner of the vehicle will be responsible. If a defect causes an accident, the car owner can request compensation from the manufacturer.

“If you want more cars, eventually there will be accidents, so these regulations are very important for mass deployment,” said Maxwell Zhou, CEO of DeepRoute, speaking at the company’s offices in a technology park near the border with Hong Kong. Kong.

“This isn’t truly driverless, but it’s a big milestone.”

GEAR LEVER

So far, the United States has been ahead in AV testing, with California giving the green light to testing on public roads beginning in 2014, allowing Waymo LLC, Cruise and Alphabet Inc.’s Tesla to rack up millions of miles in testing. on the highway.

But China has its foot on the gas, with Beijing making AV a key area in its latest five-year plan. Shenzhen wants its smart vehicle industry to reach 200 billion yuan in revenue by 2025.

In May of last year, Cruise CEO Dan Amann warned President Joe Biden that US safety standards risked the country’s AV industry falling behind China, with the “approach top-down and centrally directed” of the latter.

Deeproute aims to have 1,000 robot taxis with safety drivers on Shenzhen’s roads in the next few years, when more detailed regulations are expected.

But in a city with a state-owned fleet of 22,000 electric taxis from Shenzhen-based BYD, where a 20km (12-mile) trip costs about 60 yuan ($9), the production costs of autonomous vehicles will need to come down. before robotic taxis. they are commercially viable, Zhou said.

Deeproute and other robotaxi companies are banking on mass production to cut costs and collect data. Deeproute sells its driving solutions to car brands for around $3,000.

Zhou sees Shenzhen’s DJI Technology Co as a role model, with the company using lower hardware costs and integrated supply chains to make it the dominant player in the commercial drone space worldwide.

On July 21, Baidu announced a new AV with a detachable steering wheel that it will use for robotaxis next year, at 250,000 yuan per unit, almost half the price of its previous generation.

“We are moving into a future where taking a robotaxi will be half the cost of taking a taxi today,” Baidu CEO Robin Li told the Baidu world conference.

FROGS IN A WELL

Shenzhen’s lower supply chain and costs give it a big production advantage over Silicon Valley, but AV solutions maker David Chang doesn’t want to be limited to just one market.

“In Shenzhen, the cost of capital is a third to California, because we have the battery suppliers, we have the sensors, we have most of the integration,” said the CEO and founder of Shenzhen-based Whale Dynamic.

“But the revenue is one-twelfth to California, so it might not be a graceful business,” he said.

Deeproute, Weride, and Pony.ai also have offices in Silicon Valley, with R&D and testing teams in both locations.

“We don’t want to cower in a pit and fight other frogs. We want to jump out of that pit,” Chang said.

($1 = 6.7433 Chinese yuan)

(This story is resubmitted to correct spelling in paragraph 4 to view (not to site))

Information from David Kirton; Edited by Michael Perry

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