Baidu tops Beijing’s autonomous driving road test applicants by testing range

Shanghai (Gasgoo)- A total of 77 vehicles deployed by 13 companies have undergone the road tests of autonomous driving in Beijing from the beginning of 2018 to the end of 2019, involving an aggregate testing range of 1.04 million kilometers, according to a report released by Beijing Innovation Center for Mobility Intelligent (BICMI) on March 2.

During the reporting period, the capital of China was ranked No.1 in terms of the number of applicants and tested vehicles, and the road test range, said the BICMI. As of 2019, Beijing had launched 151 road sections spanning 503.68 kilometers for companies to conduct the road tests.

(Photo source: Baidu Apollo)

The 13 applicants include 6 Internet companies, 6 OEMs and 1 map manufacturer. With respect to the testing range, Baidu no doubt took the championship with its 52 vehicles running up to 893,900 kilometers, 772,600 kilometers more than that of the runner-up Pony ai.

The report shows that Beijing has to-day launched three closed testing grounds for autonomous vehicles. The first ground whose availability covers from the bottom T1 to the highest T5 level is located in Yizhuang. The abundance of testing scenarios is a commendable point for the Yizhuang base, where you can find 85% of urban scenarios in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region and 90% scenarios for expressway. Besides, it also enables companies to test and evaluate shorter-than-12m autonomous vehicles, and cars for goods delivery and takeaway around the clock and in all weather conditions.

Most of tested vehicles are refitted based on existing models. According to the report, three China’s indigenous auto brands—Haval, NIO and BAIC BJEV—were granted the license plates for autonomous vehicle road tests by Beijing's authority in 2018, while the number was increased to seven last year with Hongqi, Dongfeng Fengguang, WEY and BYD joining the homegrown lineup.