Chinese carmakers, which have shocked global car brands with their rapid expansion of electric vehicles, are aiming to become leaders in the autonomous car space, the Financial Times (FT) reported.
The next battleground in the auto industry is the confrontation of US groups such as Tesla and Alphabet's subsidiary Waymo against leading Chinese carmaker BYD, as well as Pony.ai, Baidu and WeRide.
In January, BYD, whose Achilles heel is autonomous driving, shocked the auto industry by announcing plans to implement its advanced God's Eye autonomous driving system in 21 models at no additional cost to customers. Moreover, even the most modest autonomous driving system for budget cars includes 12 cameras and 17 radars.
As previously reported, Guangzhou-based Pony.ai announced plans to launch a robotaxi service - autonomous cars that carry passengers - in Hong Kong. The plan is to initially make the service available to employees at Hong Kong International Airport, and then expand to the city's central areas.
In November last year, the Hong Kong Department of Transport approved Baidu's application to test 10 autonomous vehicles on Lantau Island, granting the company a license valid until December 2029.
According to a forecast by analysts at the investment bank Goldman Sachs, the value of the Chinese robotaxi market alone will grow from the current $54 million to $47 billion by 2035. Such a jump will be driven by the reduced costs of equipment and algorithms. Experts estimate that the price of a self-driving vehicle will fall to $32,000 in a decade from the current $44,000.