AUTONOMOUS driving was a hot topic of discussion among deputies and political advisers at China’s annual legislative and political consultative sessions, which concluded recently.

One city making significant strides in this field is Shenzhen, which has taken the lead in exploring and developing intelligent connected vehicles (ICVs). The city has introduced regulations governing ICVs, making it the first in China to regulate autonomous driving. Shenzhen not only established industry regulations, but also extended support across the industrial and ecological chains for these advancements.

The city has actively facilitated the testing of autonomous vehicles by opening designated roads in downtown and other key areas. Since the announcement of the fourth batch of road test areas in August 2023, which included 61 roads spanning 129.89 kilometers, Shenzhen has expanded its testing infrastructure to encompass 248 test roads that cover a distance of 331.26 kilometers.

The newly designated test roads are mainly located in the CBD in Futian, the Houhai and Shekou areas in Nanshan, and the Yanluo area, Bao’an Middle School, and the Shenzhen World Exhibition & Convention Center in Bao’an.

As the number of testing roads continues to grow, Shenzhen has seen diverse applications like the introduction of deeproute.ai’s L4 self-driving taxi service in Futian District and the deployment of self-piloted public minibuses in Nanshan District.

Moreover, self-driving technology has been deployed at the Mawan smart port, the first 5G-based smart port within the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA). By the end of 2023, the port had overseen the operation of 38 unpiloted container trucks, representing the highest number recorded in a single port globally.

In 2022, Shenzhen unveiled its plan for 20 industrial clusters, listing ICVs as a key strategic emerging industry. In 2022, the industrial added value for the city’s ICVs reached 51.14 billion yuan (US$7.12 billion), an increase of 46.1% year on year.

Shenzhen has now become one of the cities with the most complete new energy vehicle industrial chains in the world. According to TianYanCha.com, a leading corporate information provider, China has more than 12,000 companies engaged in autonomous driving, including 1,300 companies based in Shenzhen.

Revenue from the city’s intelligent connected vehicle industry is projected to hit 200 billion yuan by 2025, as outlined in the city’s development plan for this industry.

However, Wang Yanmei, director of the Shenzhen Nanshan Science and Technology Institute, has identified major obstacles in the industry, such as a shortage of innovative companies capable of developing self-driving chips and limitations on where intelligent vehicles can be tested.

(Chen Siqi)