Received testing license Autonomous Driving: Ten Teslas with FSD Autopilot on the Way to Shanghai

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Tesla has received the first testing license for its FSD Autopilot in China. The American electric car manufacturer is allowed to test its software on the roads in the district of "Nanhui New Town" on the outskirts of Shanghai with initially ten vehicles, local media report citing local officials.

With this test license, Elon Musk has taken an important step closer to marketing his product in the world's largest car market. And not a moment too soon, as Chinese competitors are increasingly successfully using similar ADAS driver assistance systems as a selling point.

Level 2 according to Chinese classification

Full Self Driving (FSD) is Tesla's driving assistance software. It enables automated driving functions up to level 2 according to the Chinese classification. This classification has six levels from 0 to 5, where vehicles can then be completely autonomous and travel without a driver.

With Tesla's FSD, a driver still has to sit in the cockpit and be able to intervene at any time. It is an assistance system that can take over things like lane centering, adaptive cruise control (ACC), and similar functions with "partial automation".

Launch in China

A source in the Shanghai municipal government confirmed to Chinese business newspaper Caixin a few days ago that Tesla is allowed to put ten test vehicles with FSD on the roads of the Xinhui New Town district. That's just a part of Shanghai in the far southeast of the city, not far from Tesla's Gigafactory there. In April, Elon Musk had unexpectedly visited Beijing and met with Chinese Prime Minister Li Qiang. Rumors had followed suggesting that the launch of FSD in China could happen as early as this year. "It might be possible very soon," Musk himself tweeted in April when he was asked about market access for FSD in China.

According to other media reports, FSD tests will also be carried out in Hangzhou, the city of millions located about two hours' drive southwest of Shanghai, in the near future. However, official confirmations of all these reports are still pending.

Commercialize automated driving

The approval of autopilot is important for Tesla if it wants to remain competitive in the fiercely contested market for Chinese electric vehicles, which are increasingly being equipped with advanced driver assistance systems. Since last year, the Chinese government has been accelerating the commercialization of autonomous driving in China, mainly to give its domestic auto industry a competitive edge in this new key technology worldwide.

On June 4, several ministries in Beijing issued test licenses for Level 3 autonomous driving to nine Chinese automakers in seven major Chinese cities, including Tesla competitors BYD and SAIC, as well as two manufacturers of commercial vehicles. This is intended to pave the way for "further commercialization of advanced autonomous driving technologies," the Ministry of Industry in Beijing explained.

Competition of technologies

These Chinese companies are currently a whole step ahead of Tesla with Level 3 tests on the path to fully autonomous driving. Beijing is friendly towards Tesla, whose car production in China is seen by the communist leadership as a successful example of economic cooperation between the US and the People's Republic. Nevertheless, Beijing ensures that domestic competitors have the best chances when a technological transformation is underway.

At this point in time, it is not clear how quickly Tesla's FSD could also be upgraded to level 3 in China, although there have apparently been great technical advancements at Tesla in recent times.

As soon as FSD is tested on China's roads, a direct competition between two technological routes for autonomous driving will also begin there. Unlike most Chinese and international manufacturers, which rely on a mix of lidar sensors, millimeter wave radar and cameras, FSD relies entirely on "computer vision" and cameras.

Competition is increasing.

After successful tests, Tesla can apply for permission from the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) to sell the product. Once Tesla is also allowed to sell cars with advanced autopilots in China, market observers expect the competition in the local car market to intensify even further. Particularly German and smaller Chinese manufacturers will face increased pressure to bring their car software up to date. (se)

*Henrik Bork, a longtime China correspondent for German Süddeutsche Zeitung and Frankfurter Rundschau, is the Managing Director at Asia Waypoint, a consulting agency based in Beijing that specializes in China.

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