Beijing (Gasgoo)- The Guangzhou city recently opened its second batch of intelligent connected vehicle (ICV) testing routes on expressways, including routes linking key transportation hubs like Guangzhou South Railway Station and Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport. Pony.ai, which previously obtained the first ICV expressway testing permit in Guangzhou, has begun autonomous driving tests on these newly available routes.
Photo credit: Pony.ai
The latest expansion includes eight expressways, totaling approximately 158 kilometers. Currently, Guangzhou has opened 933 testing roads, with a total one-way distance of around 1,980 kilometers, among which more than 260 kilometers are expressways, leading the nation in this regard.
Pony.ai received its ICV expressway testing permit in May 2024, with two of its autonomous vehicle models approved for testing including the Toyota Sienna equipped with Pony.ai’s sixth-generation passenger vehicle system and the SANY heavy-duty truck featuring the company's third-generation autonomous truck system. These vehicles are already being tested on the initial expressways opened in Guangzhou.
The second batch of testing routes connects the northern and southern parts of Guangzhou, linking Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport, Guangzhou South Station, and Nansha Port. This expansion not only provides more testing scenarios for autonomous driving but also lays the groundwork for further connectivity in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. It is expected to accelerate cross-district autonomous driving services for local residents and expand the reach of autonomous trucks, enhancing logistics efficiency. As of August 2024, Pony.ai has accumulated over 35 million kilometers of autonomous driving road test distance, including over 3.5 million kilometers of driverless testing.
