Integrating the YRD region into a future mobility hub
With Shanghai as its core, supported by the neighboring provinces of Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Anhui, the Yangtze River Delta (YRD) has arguably the most robust economy, greatest openness and strongest innovation capability of any region in China.
It offers a natural base for collaboration, with a shared culture, a talented and educated workforce, established companies in many key industries and a growing R&D capability. These factors have helped the Yangtze River Delta Region become one of China’s automotive industry bases.
The region is now in a position to become a leader in the global transformation of personal mobility through the development of intelligent connected vehicles (ICVs).
ICVs represent the future direction of the global automotive industry and mobility. They will make roads more efficient and safer. Traffic management authorities will be able to maximize the number of vehicles on roads based on big data transferred by vehicles themselves to avoid traffic jams and accidents caused by human error.
The deployment of ICVs could take a well-established transportation network to the next level of coordination and collaboration. That is intrinsically linked to a region’s synergistic development.
Delta region has a complete automotive industry supply chain, a large vehicle market and a growing base of industry talent.
It is home to several leading Chinese and foreign automakers, including GM and our partner SAIC. Our domestic joint ventures, most of which are based in the YRD region, are being transformed into transportation service providers.
We are now moving forward to offer a connected and intelligent experience. We are benefiting from a growing digital economy valued in the trillions of yuan.
The digital ecosystem is an important sector driving integrated regional development. Shanghai, for example, is taking the lead in targeting full 5G coverage by 2020.
As a result, we are confident that the Yangtze River Delta region has the potential to become a global driving force of future mobility by leading and integrating ICV development, testing and deployment. disrupting traditional driving modes. Yet the uncertainties of regulation and enforcement are keeping them out of consumers’ hands.
Devising appropriate solutions through an official mechanism to enable mature intelligent driving systems to be applied on the road is critical for the commercialization of new intelligent driving technologies and for the YRD region to continue enjoying its first-mover advantage in future mobility.
Just as Shanghai is leading new energy vehicle (NEV) market growth by issuing green license plates for vehicles powered by electricity, issuing dedicated ICV license plates will get ICVs in the market and drive technology evolution through market forces.
Second, for more advanced ICV features, such as fully autonomous driving and vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communications, the region could unify its protocols and standards to enable testing and potential deployment at scale.
The highway system connecting the region, as well as its well-developed road system, could be leveraged to increase the real-world exposure of Shanghaibased autonomous vehicles and V2X pilot testing programs and speed up learning. Again, the more real-life scenarios the technology is exposed to, the faster it will become mature and commercially applicable.
Third, safety is GM’s overriding priority. It applies to data as well as vehicles. For the development of ICVs, it is essential to develop a framework for creating an open regional data-sharing environment that protects individuals’ privacy.
Big data will benefit companies in product development, technology upgrade and other key areas. It can boost economic growth, deliver new business opportunities and increase industrial efficiency.
Shanghai is off to a great start in sharing public data to improve inter-agency governance. For region-wide data sharing, a designated regional not-for-profit entity in charge of collection, storage and distribution will ensure that data is shared fairly and equitably.