Capital of China, Beijing has passed new regulations to encourage the advancement of autonomous driving technologies in the city, Reuters reported, citing Beijing Daily.
Autonomous vehicles which have passed road-testing and safety assessments will be permitted to apply for road trials, and the new regulations will take effect from April 1, 2025, the publication wrote.
Beijing supports the use of autonomous vehicles in the form of private cars, urban buses, trams and taxis, and it wants to encourage the construction of road infrastructure in support of these autonomous vehicles, it added.
Separately, the city of Wuhan also stated that it has approved regulations in support of the development of intelligent connected vehicles, wrote Reuters.
Baidu subsidiary Apollo Go opened its fully autonomous ride-hailing service in Beijing in May 2021, and aimed to have 1,000 robotaxis deployed in Wuhan by the end of 2024. Meanwhile, robotaxi operator Pony.ai aims to expand its autonomous taxi fleet from 250 units in operation this year, to over 1,000 units by 2026.
On the assisted driving front, Tesla’s Full Self Driving assistance suite is also set to enter China in the first quarter of 2025, with right-hand-drive markets to receive FSD in the later part of the first quarter, or early Q2 2025.
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