Driverless robotaxis hit the streets of Chinese city

One of the emerging themes in the mobility world this year has been the deployment of a small number of completely driverless cars on public roads. Add 25 more to the list.

AutoX, a Chinese autonomous vehicle company backed by e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding, says it has put driverless robotaxis on the streets of downtown Shenzhen. According to the company, this is the first time in that nation's history an AV fleet has been deployed without safety drivers or remote operators providing backup.

The company revealed Wednesday evening that it had been conducting driverless "stress tests" in the city for half a year. It released photos of a fleet of modified Chrysler Pacificas and a video of a van making its way through the streets, changing lanes to avoid an illegally parked car, and yielding to pedestrians and bicyclists. At first the van is seen with zero occupants. Later it picks up passengers, a package, and even ferries a dog taking a solo ride.

An AutoX spokesperson told Automotive News the company has been conducting private trials in Shenzhen with passengers on board, but rides without safety drivers are not yet available to the public.

AutoX also operates robotaxi fleets with safety drivers in Shanghai and Shenzhen. In a recent interview with Reuters, AutoX CEO Jianxiong Xiao said the company was planning additional test fleets in Beijing, western Chongqing and two other cities.

In an appearance on the Shift podcast in July, Xiao explained his preference for testing automated vehicles in busy urban centers, such as Shenzhen and Shanghai.

"They welcome technology; they are very tech-friendly, and they also have enough demand because those are like megacities. Shanghai is the largest city in China. Shenzhen is the city with the highest population density in China. Therefore, there's a huge demand for, for example, ride-hailing, as well as logistic operations."

AutoX is also conducting driverless public-road testing in the U.S. In July, California granted the company a permit to test one vehicle around its offices in San Jose. It can operate only in fair weather or light precipitation and is limited to 45 miles per hour.

AutoX was the third company to get California's permission to test without safety drivers. Waymo was first, obtaining its permit in 2018, followed by Nuro in April of this year. Zoox and Cruise got driverless testing permits in September and October.

AutoX says its driverless vehicles have an upgraded, fifth-generation sensing system that enables vehicles to handle dense, complex traffic scenarios. It blends high-resolution cameras with lidar and radar.

-- Leslie J. Allen

What you need to know

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