Advertisement
Shenzhen
TechPolicy

China’s southern tech hub Shenzhen becomes first city on mainland to regulate fully autonomous, driverless cars on some roads

  • Shenzhen’s new regulations of intelligent connected cars took effect on August 1
  • Registered autonomous vehicles that function without a human driver can travel on certain roads designated by local transport authorities

Reading Time:2 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
2
Autonomous driving start-up DeepRoute.ai carried out driverless tests in Shenzhen on August 2, 2022, a day after the city launched China’s first local regulations covering intelligent connected vehicles. Photo: Handout
Iris Deng
Fully autonomous, driverless cars could become a frequent sight at some roads in Shenzhen, China’s technology hub in southern Guangdong province, after the metropolis rolled out the country’s first dedicated regulations for these vehicles.

Under Shenzhen’s regulations of intelligent connected cars, which took effect on August 1, registered autonomous vehicles that function without a human driver can travel on certain roads and other areas designated by local transport authorities. A so-called safety operator, however, is still required.

“This is the first-of-its-kind regulations tailored for smart and connected vehicle management,” said Maxwell Zhou, chief executive at DeepRoute.ai, a Shenzhen-based start-up that is one of the first autonomous driving companies to deploy its fully self-driving cars on the city’s roads.
Advertisement

“It fills the legal gap for domestic intelligent connected vehicles and clarifies liability,” Zhou said. Under the new rules, autonomous vehicles are classified into three levels: conditional, high-level and fully autonomous driving.

02:22

Automated taxis now allowed on the road in Shenzhen

Automated taxis now allowed on the road in Shenzhen

When an autonomous vehicle has a driver, this person is liable to pay compensation in case of an accident, according to the new regulations. When the vehicle is fully autonomous, the owner or manager of the car could be liable for compensation when damages are caused.

Advertisement
While Beijing earlier this year allowed fully driverless cars to operate in a pilot zone at the capital’s southeast Yizhuang district, Shenzhen is first in the country to roll out local regulations for autonomous vehicles, thanks to its status as a “socialist model city” with modern governance policies backed by the Chinese government.
Advertisement
Select Voice
Choose your listening speed
Get through articles 2x faster
1.25x
250 WPM
Slow
Average
Fast
1.25x