The Chinese government has authorized testing of Level 3 automated driving technologies for the first time in history. According to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology’s (MIIT) announcement on Tuesday, nine automakers received the green light for their proposed pilot program.
BYD, Nio, and major state-owned automakers among first approved for Level 3 trials
China’s MIIT officially announced on Tuesday that nine automakers have successfully secured approval to test their Level 3 autonomous driving software on public roads.
Interestingly, the news comes as American electric vehicle giant Tesla gears up to roll out its Full Self-Driving (FSD) Supervised in China this year.
As per the press release, the automakers approved to launch their Level 3 autonomous driving pilot program are as follows:
Deliberation of four departments
Four Chinese ministries, including Industry and Information Technology, Transport, Housing and Urban-Rural Development, and Public Security, worked closely together to deliberate the approvals.
After the pilot programs’ application and initial approval, eligible automakers will utilize the accumulated data for legislative, regulatory, and technical standards. It can also help them further develop their respective autonomous driving software.
“In the next step, the four departments will advance the implementation of the pilot in an orderly manner in accordance with the overall requirements and work objectives of the pilot, accumulate management experience based on the pilot evidence, support the formulation and revision of relevant laws, regulations, and technical standards, and accelerate the improvement of intelligent networked vehicle production access and road transportation.”
MIIT
For context, Level 3 autonomous vehicles represent a major advancement, allowing drivers to take their hands off the wheel, unlike Level 1 and Level 2.
Paving the way for Level 3 autonomous vehicles on China’s public roads
Tesla is not on the list of approved automakers. However, it will highly likey change soon.
In late April, Tesla successfully secured a tentative approval for its FSD Supervised in China. Notably, FSD is currently classified as a Level 2 automated system as it requires driver attention constantly.
It also teamed up with Chinese tech giant Baidu to secure HD map access, enabling the future launch of its FSD suite in the country. More recently, reports revealed that the American EV giant is on track to kick off FSD testing on employee vehicles.
All that said, the Chinese government’s move to approve such autonomous driving trials will significantly advance the development of self-driving cars in the country.
