Japanese Media Zoom In on WeRide and China’s Smart Automotive Innovation
Can fully autonomous driving be realized in China with the world’s largest automobile market and also the most complicated traffic conditions?
China is investing heavily in smart innovation of automobiles and is reopening its economy and bringing life back to normal at the fastest speed against the backdrop of the pandemic. Will these give China a lead in the commercialization of autonomous driving technology?
With these questions in mind, during Beijing Auto Show held in early Oct, NHK and TBS, two major TV media from Japan came and visited WeRide, the first company in the country to test fully driverless cars and conducted in-depth news reports on the latest development in China’s smart automotive undertaking and the commercialization of autonomous driving.
Media：NHK BS
Time：October 1, 2020
News Roundup:
The NHK correspondent paid a visit to International Bio Island in Guangzhou, home to WeRide, for a test drive of its fully driverless cars. Since July 2020, WeRide has been conducting driverless tests on open roads here, making it the first company in China to have done this.
WeRide, backed by Alliance Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi, has provided regular Robotaxi service fully open to the public since November 2019 and witnessed safe and sound operation under different road conditions. From electric vehicles and intelligent connected vehicles to fully autonomous driving, competition in the automotive industry has entered a new stage.
Tang Jin, Director Researcher at Mizuho Bank who is very familiar with China’s auto industry, said: “China plans to become ‘an intelligent car power’ by 2035. China is equipped with all the conditions necessary for the development of autonomous driving, what with the world’s largest auto market, the increasingly improved 5G network environment, giant IT companies and so on.”
Source: NHK World
Time: October 2, 2020
News Roundup:
During China’s National Day Holiday, the Beijing Auto Show attracted wide attention from the global media and NHK World has brought its latest report. In the fierce global competition, Chinese automobile industry is leading the industry revolution through determined efforts in innovation, with intelligence being the focus.
Automotive OEMs are actively cooperating with technology companies. WeRide, as an industry leader with its Robotaxi service fully open to the public for nearly a year, is the first company in China to have conducted fully driverless tests on open roads. It has accumulated a mileage of 3 million kilometers of autonomous driving mileage on open road and served more than 100,000 passengers from both home and abroad. China is where automobiles of the future will be born and where business opportunities will abound.
Source: TBS Asahi Shimbun
Time: September 25, 2020
News Roundup:
TBS reporter admitted that before riding WeRide’s driverless car, he was worried about running into accidents. But after inputting the destination into the tablet in the car, the steering wheel turned on its own. There was no need to step on the gas or brake. He was amazed by how the car had smoothly accelerated, slowed down and even made U-turns, all of its own accord.
On a WeRide Robotaxi during its service, a safety driver will be sitting in the driver’s seat, but he will not touch the steering wheel, nor step on the brake or gas. The top speed of a Robotaxi exceeds 60 kilometers per hour. On busy streets, it can merge into the stream of regular cars with the kind of smoothness beyond the reporter’s imagination.
Source: TBS News N-STAR
Time: September 28, 2020
News Roundup:
No one is in the driver’s seat of this car running on the road in Guangzhou — this is made possible by WeRide, one of China’s leading companies in autonomous driving technology. A TBS reporter who tried the driverless car said, “Now we are in a lane where we can turn around. The steering wheel neatly turns and the car makes the turn with such ease.” The reporter later took a ride in a WeRide Robotaxi, which is available to the public in Huangpu District, Guangzhou. He got a firsthand experience of the autonomous driving in China’s complicated traffic environment, and interviewed passengers who often ride with Robotaxis.
Data collected from China’s complicated traffic conditions could really help further the advancement of fully autonomous driving technology.
Source: Yomiuri Shimbun
Time: September 23, 2020
News Roundup:
China has been one step ahead of other countries in recovering its economic activities that were once put on hold due to the pandemic. In the application of autonomous driving technology, Chinese enterprises are catching up fast with their counterparts in the United States, the world leader in this sector. The other day, our reporter test-rode an autonomous driving car on the road in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province. This driverless road test is the world’s second, after only one US company. No one was in the driver’s seat. WeRide plans to launch a “driverless taxi service “ in the next two to three years.
Zhang Yi, a senior consultant at Nomura Research Institute, pointed out that China’s automobile automation technology is “two or three years behind that of the United States.” However, in the aspect of road test, Chinese companies enjoy a big advantage in “being able to get support from local governments”. He predicted that “in the application of autonomous driving technology. Chinese companies should be able to speed up very quickly.”
