All Hengqin roads available for driverless car tests

Hengqin has made its entire road network available for driverless car road tests to advance autonomous driving technology, following the recent approval of the last batch of roads for testing self-driving cars by local authorities.

This initiative aims to support the development of the Greater Bay Area as a hub for self-driving technology, the South China Morning Post has reported.

The Hengqin Cooperation Zone, which focuses on economic cooperation between Macau and Guangdong province, has allocated 330 kilometers of roads for autonomous driving tests.

This decision follows a gradual opening of road sections for such tests since September 2022, with the latest approval covering the final 135 kilometers of the network.

By providing a variety of traffic scenarios for testing, Hengqin intends to help self-driving car manufacturers enhance their algorithms by collecting more comprehensive road data.

This effort is also expected to attract more self-driving car enterprises and research institutions to establish a driverless car industry cluster in the cooperation zone.

Chinese cities, including Shenzhen, have been expanding opportunities for autonomous driving testing.

Shenzhen, known for its robotaxi services, has been testing autonomous taxi services since 2021. Companies like Baidu and AutoX have been actively involved in testing their robotaxi services in different districts of the city.

Moreover, Shenzhen plans to introduce a fleet of 20 driverless buses in the Qianhai district by the end of the year. These buses will serve various areas such as subway stations, commercial districts, industrial parks, residential areas and tourism sites.