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Baidu’s self-driving vehicle is seen on a public road test in Beijing on March 22, 2018 after the internet giant received its first temporary licence in the mainland’s capital. Baidu and two other companies have recently been granted licences to test autonomous vehicles in Wuhan, capital of central China’s Hubei province. Photo: Xinhua
TechInnovation

Wuhan steps up China’s robocar push with licence for Baidu

  • The internet giant received a licence to test five of its self-driving cars in the capital of central China’s Hubei province
Self-driving cars and autonomous vehicles
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The capital of central China’s Hubei province granted licences for companies to test self-driving vehicles, boosting robocar-related stocks on hopes that autonomous driving is closer to becoming a reality in the country.
Internet giant Baidu got a licence for five of its self-driving cars, while Shenzhen Haylion Technologies and DeepBlue Technology Shanghai Co will trial a bus each, said Hu Haojun, an official at Wuhan’s department of transport.

A Baidu spokesman declined to elaborate. Representatives from the other two companies were not immediately reachable.

Shares of companies involved in self-driving technology rose on the mainland on Monday. Xingmin Intelligent Transportation Systems Group and DuoLun Technology both climbed by the 10 per cent daily limit, and Ningbo Shuanglin Auto Parts pared a similar gain to close up 5.4 per cent.

Baidu presented the latest developments in its Apollo autonomous driving platform at the 5th World Internet Conference held at Wuzhen, in eastern China's Zhejiang province, on November 7, 2018. Photo: Simon Song

China has ambitious plans for developing its transport sector, including a possible target of having 60 per cent of all cars sold in the country run on electric motors by 2035.

On the autonomous side, the State Council has emphasised a need to develop the technology and a full supply chain.

Shanghai last week announced plans for limited testing of driverless vehicles, following Changsha and Guangzhou. The city gave licences to SAIC Motor Corp, BMW and ride-hailing company Didi Chuxing to test cars with passengers.

For Wuhan, a city of about 10 million people, driverless vehicle tests will take place in designated parts of a 28-kilometre road, the official Xinhua News Agency said on Sunday. It cited the deputy mayor as saying the city will provide “subsidies at appropriate levels” and that the trials could help put China on track to being a global leader in autonomous driving.

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This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: Firms get self-driving test licences in Wuhan
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