Beijing’s BDA makes strides in smart transportation with 640 autonomous vehicles deployed

Beijing (Gasgoo)- On August 17, the Beijing Economic-Technological Development Area (BDA) unveiled remarkable achievements in the high-end automotive and new energy intelligent vehicle sectors during the first half of the year, with an impressive output value of 118.27 billion yuan, reflecting a substantial 13.1% year-on-year growth.

Pony.ai's autonomous vehicle in BDA; photo credit: Pony.ai

At the forefront of these accomplishments is the momentum generated by the BDA’s Autonomous Driving 3.0 construction strategy. The BDA successfully executed the construction of 200 digital infrastructure nodes at intersections, deploying a fleet of 640 autonomous vehicles that collectively covered over 17 million kilometers in testing distance. In addition, the area also launched the world's first real-world scenario-based C-V2X autonomous driving dataset and an intelligent connected roadside operation system.

As autonomous driving technology continues its evolution, Beijing remains committed to propelling the commercial application of autonomous driving services. Since late 2022, pivotal steps have been taken, such as issuing permits for driverless testing. Tech giants like Baidu and Pony.ai have contributed by conducting three months of comprehensive autonomous testing (without passengers) using 10 vehicles each in designated areas, amassing a combined driverless testing distance of 1.81 million kilometers. Following rigorous testing and validation, driverless passenger-carrying Robotaxi services were introduced in Beijing in March of this year.

As of July 2023, Beijing has witnessed the deployment of 116 unmanned autonomous testing vehicles, accumulating a remarkable total testing distance of nearly 2 million kilometers. The pilot commercialization of Robotaxi services has garnered an impressive order volume exceeding 1.5 million, with a user satisfaction rate surpassing 95%.