Beijing expands test area for self-driving vehicles

BEIJING — Beijing’s Haidian district, the capital’s tech hub, is seeking to expand its lead in self-driving vehicles with a plan to create more space for trial runs.

The district will build a demonstration area with 100 square kilometers for self-driving vehicles, said Dai Binbin, head of the Haidian district government.

The demonstration area is part of an action plan issued by the district government to spur the development and innovation of driverless vehicles.

The area will be a place to develop smart transportation through featuring multiple scenarios, cloud management, simulated tests and data support, Dai said.

Companies and researchers will be able to test technologies in commuting, logistics and delivery, and road cleaning, he said.

Haidian district is seeking to step up international cooperation in the industry and plans to host a high-level competition of driverless vehicles, Dai said.

China allows local governments to arrange road tests for autonomous vehicles.

In March 2018, Beijing earmarked 33 roads with a total length of 105 kilometers for autonomous car testing in Yizhuang, Shunyi and Haidian, all of which are outside the Fifth Ring Road and away from densely populated areas.

During the past year, Beijing granted road testing licenses to automakers Baidu, NIO, BAIC, Pony.ai, Tencent, Didi, Daimler and Audi.

According to a government plan, test spaces in the capital are expected to reach 500 square km by 2022, and a total of 2,000 km of roads will also be open for testing.

Many Chinese cities, including Beijing, Shanghai and Chongqing, have issued car plates for road tests of self-driving vehicles.