Driverless robotaxis are conquering Beijing's ring roads

Autonomous driving in China Driverless robotaxis are conquering Beijing's ring roads

2025-02-11 From Henrik Bork | Translated by AI 3 min Reading Time

Robotaxis with empty driver's seats are now allowed to operate on the urban highways in the Beijing area. The company Pony.ai announced on January 14 that it had received such an extended test license for several heavily trafficked routes.

In China's capital Beijing, driverless robotaxis could soon be rolling on the ring roads.(Image: freely licensed on Pixabay) — In China's capital Beijing, driverless robotaxis could soon be rolling on the ring roads.
(Image: freely licensed on Pixabay)

Among other things, there will soon be autonomous taxis from this provider on the route from the Yizhuang industrial area to the new Daxing airport and on the ring roads near Beijing South Railway Station, company spokespeople said. A supervisor will still have to ride in the passenger seat who can intervene if necessary, but for the first time, no one will have to sit at the wheel when the cars, based on the Toyota Sienna and Lexus RX models, travel to Beijing's heavily used transport hubs.

The Chinese capital is continuing an approval policy that has already made it one of the local pioneers of autonomous driving in the People's Republic in recent years. Since 2020, there have been test zones spanning an area of 600 square kilometers (148263 acre) for autonomous and connected vehicles, including in the pristine and modern district of Yizhuang, where many technology companies are located. Now, in another milestone, the city's highways are also becoming public robotaxi zones with empty driver's seats. They are allowed to operate on different road sections at various times of day and night, enabling the testing of all scenarios from morning rush hour to nighttime traffic.

Framework for autonomous driving

On December 31, 2024, Beijing also published a comprehensive set of regulations, the new "Beijing Autonomous Vehicle Regulations," which enable and promote autonomous driving for private cars, city buses, taxis, and urban commercial vehicles. When the new rules come into effect on April 1 of this year, manufacturers will be able to apply for test licenses on Beijing's roads in all these segments—from autonomy level 3 to fully driverless driving.

As can be clearly seen from the various paragraphs of the new regulations, Beijing not only wants to be at the forefront of using autonomous vehicles in both domestic and global comparisons, but also aims to increasingly locate research and development of related technologies in the industrial areas on its outskirts. Already, the Chinese capital is home to three leading Chinese companies in the field of autonomous driving. In addition to Pony.ai, which went public in the US last November, the internet and AI company Baidu and Neolix also have their headquarters in Beijing.

Infrastructure and management of road traffic

In addition to incentives for innovations in the field of autonomous driving and the development of necessary technologies, the new regulations in the Chinese capital also address the planning and construction of the required urban infrastructure, the specific management of road traffic, and safety issues. Insurance companies are encouraged to develop suitable products for users.

The city of Wuhan also released new regulations on autonomous and connected driving at the turn of the year. Apollo Go, a subsidiary of Baidu, already has a fleet of nearly 1,000 robotaxis in operation there. The capital of Hubei province, which is home to many traditional auto manufacturers, does not want to leave the development of this new future technology to Beijing alone but aims to become a leading location for autonomous and connected driving itself.

Together, the new regulatory frameworks in Beijing and Wuhan can be understood as signals "for China's enthusiasm in promoting technologies for autonomous driving," said Zhang Li, a professor at the prestigious University of Science and Law in Beijing, to reporters.

Basis for robotaxi test zones

And these signals are being clearly heard throughout the People's Republic. More than 50 Chinese cities have already developed local regulations that lay the foundation for test zones for robotaxis. However, the new regulatory framework in Beijing goes beyond this by preparing for the deployment of autonomous vehicles of all kinds not only in pilot areas but also in wide parts of the city.

It is evident that the phase of commercialization for autonomous driving in China is currently being initiated in a targeted and gradual manner. The People's Republic is expected to become the world's largest market for such vehicles and corresponding mobility services by 2030, with a total value of more than 500 billion US dollars, according to the consulting agency McKinsey. (se)

Yang Hanbing, CEO of Contemporary Amperex Intelligent Technology, proudly announced that during a crash test against a pillar at a speed of 120 km/h (74.56 mph), the chassis and the power battery installed inside neither exploded nor caught fire. (Image:CATL)

In China, E2E is increasingly gaining ground in autonomous driving. (Image:freely licensed on Pixabay)

Consent to the use of data for promotional purposes

I hereby consent to Vogel Communications Group GmbH & Co. KG, Max-Planck-Str. 7-9, 97082 Würzburg including any affiliated companies according to §§ 15 et seq. AktG (hereafter: Vogel Communications Group) using my e-mail address to send editorial newsletters. A list of all affiliated companies can be found here

Newsletter content may include all products and services of any companies mentioned above, including for example specialist journals and books, events and fairs as well as event-related products and services, print and digital media offers and services such as additional (editorial) newsletters, raffles, lead campaigns, market research both online and offline, specialist webportals and e-learning offers. In case my personal telephone number has also been collected, it may be used for offers of aforementioned products, for services of the companies mentioned above, and market research purposes.

Additionally, my consent also includes the processing of my email address and telephone number for data matching for marketing purposes with select advertising partners such as LinkedIn, Google, and Meta. For this, Vogel Communications Group may transmit said data in hashed form to the advertising partners who then use said data to determine whether I am also a member of the mentioned advertising partner portals. Vogel Communications Group uses this feature for the purposes of re-targeting (up-selling, cross-selling, and customer loyalty), generating so-called look-alike audiences for acquisition of new customers, and as basis for exclusion for on-going advertising campaigns. Further information can be found in section “data matching for marketing purposes”.

In case I access protected data on Internet portals of Vogel Communications Group including any affiliated companies according to §§ 15 et seq. AktG, I need to provide further data in order to register for the access to such content. In return for this free access to editorial content, my data may be used in accordance with this consent for the purposes stated here. This does not apply to data matching for marketing purposes.

Right of revocation

I understand that I can revoke my consent at will. My revocation does not change the lawfulness of data processing that was conducted based on my consent leading up to my revocation. One option to declare my revocation is to use the contact form found at https://contact.vogel.de. In case I no longer wish to receive certain newsletters, I have subscribed to, I can also click on the unsubscribe link included at the end of a newsletter. Further information regarding my right of revocation and the implementation of it as well as the consequences of my revocation can be found in the data protection declaration, section editorial newsletter.