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Showing posts with label self-driving cars. Show all posts
Showing posts with label self-driving cars. Show all posts
China’s automotive industry has traditionally taken a backseat compared to global competitors, but is planning a major overtake when it comes to pushing startups on self-driving, says China lawyer Mark Schaub in the Asia Nikkei. “In China, if you always wait till the law comes into effect, you are six months to a year behind what the regulators are saying,” Schaub said.
The Asia Nikkei:
Analysts see authorities’ willingness to allow aggressive experiments for new technology as a major advantage in China’s fierce competition with the U.S. for the most advanced autonomous driving technology, which many believe will change the automobile industry.
“China missed out on manufacturing top quality cars. The industry is being transformed … Chinese policymakers are very keen to be the first and best doing autonomous driving,” said Mark Schaub, a tech industry lawyer and partner with law firm King & Wood Mallesons.
China has grown to be the world’s largest car market and produces tens of millions every year. But few domestic automakers have mastered the core technologies for combustion-engine cars, an area led by the U.S., Japan and Germany. China’s most popular cars have often been produced through joint ventures with leading foreign automakers such as Volkswagen, General Motors and Toyota.
China wants to turn the tables with autonomous driving technology, which would also transform taxis, buses, trucks and delivery vehicles. China’s target is for vehicles with at least partial self-driving functions to account for 50% of new auto sales in five years, according to a blueprint published by a government research body in November…
Beijing, Guangzhou and Changsha appear to be among the more aggressive promoters of autonomous driving. They allow self-driving vehicles to be tested with remote support rather than a human driver. But none of these cities has allowed fully autonomous driving, where both remote controls and backup drivers are removed.
“In China, if you always wait till the law comes into effect, you are six months to a year behind what the regulators are saying,” Schaub said. Unlike most Western countries where authorities enforce the strict letter of the law, he said, there is a lot of discretion in China.
The regulatory approach is expected to put foreign players at a disadvantage in competing with local players in the age of autonomous driving, because “Chinese companies know better how to navigate the legislation and the laws,” he said.
Autonomous driving cars cause a range of issues, for example on collecting data to make them possible. Lawyer Mark Schaub looks at the legal issues when foreign companies have to send data to their headquarters outside China, for the China Law Insight.
Mark Schaub:
During the data collection, the sensors of the test vehicle generally will capture the images and information of other vehicles, pedestrians, cyclists as well as traffic signs, traffic lights, road edges, traffic lanes, other infrastructure and landscape.
Accordingly harvesting and analyzing data are key for many carmakers, auto suppliers and high tech companies. Moreover, international companies active in China will often intend to transfer all or part of such information collected in China to their headquarters or affiliates overseas for further processing, e.g., labelling, validation and function development, etc.
However, both driving a car on China’s public roads to collect data through sensors equipped on vehicles (“Data Collection”) and transferring such data abroad (“Data Transfer Abroad”) may give rise to legal risks under PRC law...
In China, surveying and mapping activities are strictly regulated due to issues of national security, concerns over demarcation of borders and state secrets.
Surveying and mapping is defined broadly under PRC Surveying and Mapping Law. According to Article 2 of the PRC Surveying and Mapping Law, surveying and mapping refers to the surveying, collection and presentation of the shapes, sizes, spatial position and attributes etc. of the key elements of natural geography or man-made facilities on the surface, as well as the activities in processing and providing of the obtained data, information and results.
The PRC Surveying and Mapping Law requires that surveying and mapping in China be carried out exclusively by entities holding a license issued by the relevant governmental authority.
For the Data Collection, if only radar and cameras are used then the likelihood (in our opinion) that such activities will fall within the scope of surveying and mapping under PRC law may not be high. However, use of positioning units and/or LiDAR will likely lead to such data collection falling within the scope of surveying and mapping. The risk level will increase if the Data Collection is conducted by a foreign entity or a foreign invested enterprise (FIE).
China has not only been leading the way to develop self-driving cars, it has also been are the forefront of legal changes needed to allow those cars into society. The Shanghai-based lawyer Mark Schaub gives an overview of the new regulations the government has been introducing at the China Law Insight.
Mark Schaub:
China is embarking on bold moves to re-shaping its auto industry policy. This follows recent announcements in relaxation of key restrictions on foreign investment in the auto sector.
The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) is the body tasked in China with laying the direction for industrial policy. On May 17, 2018 the NDRC circulated the draft Administrative Rules on Auto Industry Investment (“Draft Rules”) to local governments and industry stakeholders for comment. The Draft Rules when passed will replace the current car industry development policy that has been in place since 2004.
In short the Draft Rules reform the China approval system for auto investment projects by delegating more authority to local governments, expressly prohibit any new production capacity for fossil-fuelled vehicles and raise the threshold for establishing electric vehicle manufacturing companies.
The Draft Rules set 25 May 2018 as the deadline for feedback from local governments and industry participants. Accordingly a tight timeline and sorry if you missed it! This does, however, hint that feedback will be limited and that NDRC has clear ideas as to the direction it intends to take. Generally, longer feedback periods are granted...
The Draft Rules continue and extend existing policies in place.
On the one hand China has announced relaxation of restrictions on foreign investment in auto sector with a 5-year transition plan and also reducing import tariffs on autos to 15% from 25% and on auto parts to 6%.
On the other hand China is clearly putting in place policies to allow it to have a strong domestic auto market in which it will compete head to head with international competitors. This future competition will be in respect of NEVs and autonomous cars.
The Draft Rules are expected to be officially issued within 2018 but their impact on the China’s auto industry will reach into the next decade.
After local regulations in Beijing, Shanghai, and Chongqing to organize tests with self-driving cars, China's central government now has issued national rules to streamline those tests, writes Shanghai-based lawyer Mark Schaubat the China Law Insight.
The National Rules include regulations for: the regulators, test applicants, requirements for the test driver, requirements on test vehicles, the testing application, the testing process regulation, traffic accidents, and the automation level of self-driving cars.
Mark Schaub:
The National Rules have been issued subsequent to local regulations on self-driving car road testing being issued in Beijing, Shanghai and Chongqing in recent months (“Local Regulations”), and will take effect 1 May 2018.
The National Rules are based on both best practices in other jurisdictions as well as some of the initiatives pioneered in the Local Regulations. The National Rules stress safety which is no doubt a response the Uber accident fatality in Arizona...
The issuing of the National Rules adds further momentum to China’s regulations in respect of road testing for autonomous vehicles and paves the way for increased road testing of self-driving cars across China. It seems that little will slow down the development and commercialization of autonomous vehicles in China.
The National Rules are just one indication of China’s ambitions to lead the world in this new technology. Chinese president Xi Jinping also stated at the Boao Forum on 10 April 2018 that there were plans to further open up China’s economy including relaxing foreign investment restrictions in the auto sector. Having support at the highest level bodes well for the development of autonomous cars in China.
China is leading the market of self-driving cars, because its size and the aggressive way the government is paving the road, literally, says Shanghai-based lawyer Mark Schaub to the China Law Insight. But investing in China offers not only huge opportunities, the challenges are equally gargantuan.
Mark Schaub:
China will be too big for international autonomous car suppliers and service providers to ignore. Biggest automotive market, continued strong growth, right infrastructure, ability for government to implement, early adopter consumers, popularity of car sharing and sharing economy, new and innovative companies on the rise all point to China being pivotal to the development of autonomous cars.
Also as China’s share of the world economy rises and it becomes the largest economy it may well be that for a company to be “global” in the autonomous car sector then you will also need to “win” in China.
However, it will not be easy for these international companies though – China will be a major opportunity but also a major challenge.
Time and time again international companies have underestimated the competitiveness of the Chinese market – it can be crowded – both international and home grown Chinese competitors bitterly fight it out.
In addition as the Chinese economy is now so big even niches are worth fighting over.
In addition to business competition international companies will also have to contend with regulatory controls in China and in particular restrictions on foreign investments in specific sectors.
As the world’s largest auto market China’s number of cars and strong growth makes it a jurisdiction central to business strategy. It may be that if you are not present in China then you may not be able to succeed globally.
International companies already with a presence in China are deepening their footprint in China to ready themselves for the new opportunities that autonomous vehicles will provide. For many this will involve setting up their first JVs (even if they have had WFOEs for decades in China) or by cooperating with domestic companies that have expertise or licenses in restricted sectors. There will be opportunities for WFOEs but these are unlikely to be the most important or lucrative businesses. Accordingly for many investors success will necessitate working with Chinese partners – whether they be fellow shareholders or cooperative partners.
Everyone is talking about data and how it is like oil. The above quote has been repeated by the Economist, newspapers, titans of industry and world leaders.
However, data really is not like oil.
Oil is ultimately a finite and diminishing resource. Its value is linked to scarcity. Oil has one basic use. Data has none of these attributes. Data and its uses expand exponentially. Indeed it is forecast that in the next two years, 40 zettabytes of data will be created – this is data equivalent to 4 million years of HD video. [1] Most crucially consumers of oil do not generally take matters personally. Data on the other hand, inflames consumers’ passion-how do I maintain privacy? Who has access to my data? How will the data be used?
Big data is a focus area for many industries and the auto industry is no exception. However, with the advent of self-driving cars the auto industry will not only be a consumer of data but also a major generator of data. A single self-driving car could generate as much as 100GB of data every second. [2]
Given that China has 217 million cars and the number increases by nearly 11% each year [3] this means the potential amount of data produced yearly would be far greater than the data held by Google.[4]
Self-driving cars may not need oil to function (as most will be electric) but they will need data to be on the roads. Self-driving cars will rely on a massive amount of data to flow via various sensors integrated into the vehicles. The vehicle will need to know its precise location, its destination and also be able to keep track of everything while it is on the road.[5] Self-driving cars will also need to learn about their environment and the consumers who use them. The “smarter” self-driving cars can become, the greater the convenience for the users. However, the cars will need increasing amounts of personal data to become smarter and also to incorporate data results into the services.[6]
Unlike oil the data generated by self-driving cars will not be a simple commodity that will be used for one purpose and consumed. The data generated will have great value to carmakers, mobile operators, insurance companies, restaurants, hotels and any other innumerable numbers of service or product providers that hope to interact with a self-driving car or its user. Google has built a $400 billion business on its knowledge of over one billion[7] users’ internet habits using their search engine for 1.2 trillion searches per year. [8] Imagine how valuable similar insights that are generated by observing billions of consumers’ behavior in cars for extending periods of time every day. The potential for monetization will be almost limitless.[9]
Data – great for companies, great for convenience, great for consumer experiences – but not so great for privacy. Privacy concerns on the part of consumer have greatly increased in recent years with the growth of social media, internet and data hacks. Self-driving cars will amplify concerns and consumers and regulators realize how much data and personal information these vehicles will generate, use and record about users and the surrounding environment. Self-driving cars will be a veritable fleet of data factories. Such mobile surveillance will mean that privacy will be compromised … everywhere.
As millions of self-driving cars are expected to be on the road within the next few years the issue of balancing the modern concern of privacy and the pressure to not hinder the next great industrial revolution will be increasingly pressing. A balanced regulatory scheme will need to be established to protect privacy on the one hand while still allowing the technology to develop unheeded by excessive government intervention.
Hot on the heels of Beijing, Shanghai has become the second city in China to issue road testing regulations for self-driving cars. This is another important momentum for the development of autonomous cars in China following Beijing’s road testing regulations (“Beijing Regulations”) issued late last year.
The Shanghai Regulations use the term “intelligent and connected vehicle” (ICV) for self-driving cars. The self-driving cars governed by the Shanghai Regulations cover L3, L4 and L5 vehicles.
Although the Shanghai Regulations are largely similar to the Beijing Regulations there are some notable differences...
The release of the Shanghai Regulations is another concrete step in China’s regulating of road testing for self-driving cars. Their release also shows local authorities are seeking to provide sound policy environment to allow for self-driving cars to develop in China. National rules for self-driving car road testing are expected to be released in the near future.
Unlike the Beijing Regulations, the Shanghai Regulations are valid for 22 months i.e. until 31 December 2019. From this time frame it appears the Shanghai government intends to regulate the self-driving car road testing in a dynamic fashion.
The Auto industry is a key pillar of Shanghai’s economy. In 2017, the gross industrial output of Shanghai auto industry was RMB 677.4 billion with a year-on-year growth rate of 19.1%. If local governments will support the development of self-driving cars then it can be expected that Shanghai will lead the way.
On 1 March 2018, SAIC Motor and Nio were the first two carmakers to obtain temporary car plates for test vehicles under the Shanghai Regulations. We expect more carmakers and technology companies will join them on Shanghai’s roads.
Self-driving cars are going to change our life beyond recognition. But there is a lot of work to be done on cybersecurity to let them drive safely, says Shanghai-based lawyer Mark Schaubat the China Law Insight. a sector in which major car manufacturers such as Audi, Daimler, Toyota, BMW, Nissan, Volvo rub shoulders with new electric vehicle manufacturers such as Tesla and are also vying with established tech giants such as Google, Baidu, Apple, Samsung, Tencent and competing with new tech such as ride-hailing companies such as Didi and Uber?
China Law Insight:
[T]he use of blockchain technology in autonomous cars will raise novel legal questions which are yet to be answered.
One major legal issue will be assigning responsibility for glitches or other technical errors. As all distributed ledger technologies are decentralized there will be no single centralized body that maintains the network.
In micro-payment situations the circumstance could arise where an autonomous vehicle charges its battery but is over- or under-charged for electricity. In this case it will be unclear whether the responsible party is the autonomous vehicle manufacturer or the charging station. Indeed, in situations where glitches occur due to errors in the distributed ledger technology itself, as opposed to participating people or devices, it is unclear whether the original developer itself may be liable.
Another legal minefield for blockchain will be in respect of data privacy. Regulations may require drivers and/or passengers be given the option to customize which data is transmitted to the data marketplace and which is masked, particularly in case of shared autonomous vehicles which have large numbers of passengers who will have different privacy preferences.
There is no doubt that blockchain and distributed ledger technologies have much to offer for the development of autonomous vehicles. Blockchain will enhance user experience, reduce inefficiencies in electricity transmission and reduce the high rate of private car ownership through promoting car sharing.
Blockchain has the potential to fundamentally change:
the way autonomous vehicle data is collected, stored and transacted, by incentivizing it, securing privacy and immutability,
the way car sharing solutions are operating, by offering solutions for intermediary-free ride hailing, car sharing, carpooling, leasing services,
the way payments and micro-transactions systems are designed, through usage of smart contracts and trustless transactions,
will affect the way car insurance products are designed, allowing innovative insurance products, bringing, efficiency, transparency and speed into the car insurance process,
the methods that information and history of a car is stored, enabling a transparent database that could give an elaborate account on any given car.
A wide range of blockchain and non-blockchain powered platforms, think tanks and research institutes have proposed platforms to address a number of needs in this space (a sample list is provided below). However, despite this rapid development, it must be remembered that there remain potential flaws with the underlying technology as well as unanswered legal issues regarding privacy and liability for technical errors. These issues will need to be addressed before the technology is implemented in a mass market manner.
China is diving fast into self-driving cars. But while cybersecurity has become a major issue in IT, in the combination of self-driving cars, cybersecurity is not getting the attention it deserves, says Shanghai-based lawyer Mark Schaub on the China Law Insight, focusing on the legal risks and the actions the Chinese government did take.
Mark Schaub:
Beginning late 2017, China appears to have sped up its efforts to establish a regulatory regime for self-driving cars but still lags slightly behind other leading jurisdictions.
The importance of government policy on self-driving cars is clear. Government has three main roles in regulating the development of self-driving cars. Firstly, it will need to balance the interests of the public with those of the industry; secondly, the government will have a role to facilitate greater collaboration within the industry; and thirdly, government will have a responsibility to establish and ensure a safe information-sharing environment. [22] As such the Chinese government’s efforts to establish a regulatory regime for self-driving cars is very welcome.
In addition, industry can also play an important role in the development of policies for self-driving cars in this fast moving environment. Examples include the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers and the Association of Global Automakers which published the Framework for Automotive Cybersecurity Best Practices in January 2016 which is referenced by the US NHTSA Best Practice. It is likely that the Chinese auto industry will in the near future also play a more active role in the evolution of China’s regulatory regime for self-driving cars. This will include in particular the creation and formation of guidelines.
No tool has changed life in China more than the smartphone, with 640 million users and counting in less than a decade. But a new device is possibly disrupting - and improving - life even more, writes Shanghai-based lawyer Mark Schaub in the China Law Insight: the self-driving car. He paints the upcoming changes, and the way China's government is promoting that change.
Mark Schaub:
There is probably no nation which loves smartphones more dearly than China – all 640 million of them. In China smartphones are used to pay bills, make bank transfers, buy a coffee, hail a taxi, organize a train ticket, order food delivery, hire a house cleaner, hire a chef, messaging, browse the internet and in some rare cases they are even used to call people.
If you look in any public place in China almost everyone has a device in hand and eyes intently glued to the screen. You see it when couples are on dates. Even when driving mopeds.
The really amazing thing about smartphones is not that they are widespread (they are great) but how quickly this happened. The first Apple iPhone was launched in only 2007. At the time of launch there were many disbelievers: Steve Ballmer of Microsoft said “No chance of any significant market share”, the Nokia CEO said “It doesn’t change our thinking”.
The smartphone shows that consumers can quickly adopt new technology.
Adoption of autonomous vehicles will result in massive disruptions to market, rewriting of regulations, new challenges for infrastructure and new services will be adapted to this new “device”. These changes will only accelerate further adoption until these new “ride-able” devices will also become integral to our daily lives.
The opportunities (and risks) of autonomous cars for automobile manufacturers and their suppliers are readily apparent. However, there is also a tremendous opportunity for service providers in developing services for autonomous vehicles. Between them the two largest Application (APP) platforms in the world, Google Play and Apple, have over 5 million APPs available (although there is a degree of overlap between Android and Apple versions of the same APPs)[1].
Many of these APPs would be applicable to driverless cars and many new ones with novel functions will spring up. Traditional APPs such as looking up the weather or watching a streaming movie will also be applicable to driverless cars, but new more specific functions will be required such as more detailed mapping, parking and traffic information as well as tracking fuel and various other automobile consumables and location of service providers to refill such consumables. Ultimately, a driverless car is pointless if it still needs a driver to perform these functions. Accordingly, fully integrating driverless cars into the Internet of Things (“IoT”) revolution will allow for interoperability between your car and the relevant service providers. These cars will need to fill up, park and go in for maintenance without human guidance. Freeing up drivers from these tasks will pose a challenge for the widespread adoption of driverless cars but also provides opportunities for service providers.
The Draft Strategy sets out the goal for China to establish independently controllable technology innovation systems for intelligent vehicles. These systems will include break-through key technologies, testing appraisal technology and development of a cross industrial ecosystem.
In this regard China’s plans includes the development of a network of road and facilities for intelligent vehicles, including infrastructure, wireless telecommunications networks for vehicles to cover the whole enormous country, establishment of a nationwide basic mapping system for vehicles and big data cloud computing platforms for intelligent vehicles. In comparison the UK government has recently announced funds in its budget for autonomous cars including hi-tech projects, research on artificial intelligence, for electric car charging points and to boost clean car sales – but no funds earmarked for the development of the physical infrastructure to enable mass autonomous driving.[3]
Crucially, the NDRC recognizes that not only physical infrastructure is required but also legal infrastructure. The NDRC states China will eliminate legal barriers for market access to intelligent vehicles, issue regulations on autonomous vehicle road testing on public roads and strengthen research for autonomous driving systems and clarify legal liability in respect of traffic accidents, amend China’s road traffic law to allow for intelligent vehicles, adjust China’s laws and regulations to allow for mapping for intelligent vehicles, establish intelligent vehicles safety management system, strengthen vehicle cybersecurity and protect privacy.
NDRC has set 15 days for public comment on the Draft Strategy. This period will expire by 20 January 2018.
The Draft Strategy notes the development of intelligent vehicles is a matter of significance for China and that it is essentially a now or never chance to allow China to overtake global incumbents in the auto industry and taking a leadership role.
Map makers have always found legal restrictions by the Chinese government as a barrier 0n their way. But now the country wants to become a leader in self-driving cars, Shanghai-based lawyer Mark Schaub expects fast changes in the legal bureaucracy for maps, he tells at China Law Insight. Restrictions for foreign investors might stay in place, he fears.
Mark Schaub:
China does face a dilemma – on the one hand it has a strong interest in tightly regulating surveying and mapping activities but on the other hand it has a strong ambition to become a world leader in autonomous cars.
We expect that autonomous cars is so important that China will indeed make necessary change as to how it regulates surveying and mapping laws or at least their practical implementation in regards to HD maps.
One example of China’s efforts in this regard is the 2017 revision to the Surveying and Mapping Law which required a unified national system of continuously operating reference stations (CORS). The CORS system is able to provide accurate positioning to the centimeter or even millimeter level. In May 2017, the national CORS system was put into operation – this is a fundamental step in providing the accurate positioning data needed for HD Maps in China.
In addition, the 2016 NASG Notice also notes that the authority is speeding up the study and formation of policies on autonomous driving maps. In a news conference held by NASG in 2017 it was announced that the authority will strongly support the development of autonomous driving in China and has been actively conducting research on relevant policies and map processing technology.
However, we are less optimistic about the restrictions on foreign investment being relaxed anytime soon. We would anticipate that these will remain in place so that foreign companies interested in the China market or needing to serve the China market as part of a global strategy will need to find an accommodation within the current framework – either a joint venture or cooperation.
Getting rid of legal barriers is key for using innovation in real life, and Beijing approved the first regulations in China on self-driving cars, writes lawyer Mark Schaub at the China Law Insight. He elaborates on the details. "We expect more regions to follow Beijing’s lead and compete for innovation in this key sector," he adds.
Mark Schaub:
On 15 December 2017, Beijing Municipal Commission of Transport, Beijing Traffic Management Bureau and Beijing Municipal Commission of Economy and Information Technology jointly issued the Beijing Guidance on Accelerating Road Testing for Self-driving Vehicles (Trial) and Beijing Implementing Rules for Managing Road Testing for Self-driving Vehicles (Trial) (collectively “Regulations”)[1].
While the Regulations only apply to testing of autonomous vehicles in Beijing, this is something of a milestone as it is the first regulation of its kind in China.
The Regulations may have been spurred in part by Baidu CEO Li Yanhong’s test drive of Baidu’s autonomous vehicle on public roads in July 2017. At the time this test drive was the cause of some controversy as it was wholly unregulated.
A review of the Regulations show that the legislators have borrowed concepts of good practice from leading jurisdictions including the United States, Germany and Australia...
The release of the Regulations is a concrete step in China’s regulation on road testing of autonomous vehicles. This will no doubt boost the development of autonomous vehicles and speed the commercialization of autonomous vehicles in China. The Regulations also facilitate China’s autonomous vehicle road testing. We expect more regions to follow Beijing’s lead and compete for innovation in this key sector.
When Baidu CEO Robin Li was arrested by Beijing police for sitting in a self-driving car, it was obvious the country needs an update of its traffic laws, just like the US, Australia and several European countries did have. Shanghai-based lawyer Mark Schaubgives at his firm's website an overview of what is needed to support the development of self-driving cars, including testing on public roads and setting standards.
Mark Schaub:
Automated driving road testing is key step to move automated driving vehicles from the theoreticals of the lab to the realities of the market. A number of jurisdictions are taking the lead in this regard. Although, China has made great advances in constructing closed test sites it has not kept pace with others in respect of regulatory rules or guidelines on road testing.
China may wish to consider the approaches of other jurisdictions when formulating China’s automated driving test regulations in order to lay a good foundation to enable China to become a global leader in development of automated driving vehicles.
China is moving fast in developing self-driving cars, but also authorities move fast in paving the legal roads for those cars by developing Draft Guidelines, says Shanghai-based lawyer Mark Schaub in Lexology. The ambitious approach is in line with the technological improvements, the government is having on its agenda.
Mark Schaub:
Most of the standards to be established under the Draft Guidelines are recommended (not mandatory) national standards with few exceptions. There are 95 standards to be established under the Draft Guidelines – 11 for Foundation, 28 for General Specification, 47 for Product and Technology Application and 9 for Relevant Standards.
The Draft Guidelines also reveal that there are 21 standards that are planned to be worked out in next 2-3 years, which includes Advanced Driver Assistance System (ADAS), automatic emergency brakes (AEB), definition of levels of driving automation and in-car T-BOX, and some of them have been in the process of project approval.
What is Next?The MIIT and SAC have set one month for public comment on the Draft Guidelines which will expire by 12 July 2017. Similar draft guidelines have been prepared by MIIT and SAC and circulated to limited groups for comment in 2016. It is currently anticipated that the Draft Guidelines will be officially issued within the next few months.The Draft Guidelines indicate that a sub technology committee for ICV is under way of formation under the National Technical Committee of Auto Standardization[2] to coordinate the establishment of the standards system of ICV.
In addition, just one day before the issuance of the Draft Guidelines, i.e., on 12 June 2017, an Industry Innovation Alliance of China Intelligent & Connected Vehicles (“Alliance”) was formed with the guidance of MIIT to facilitate the strategic development of the ICV industry of China.
Mr. Miao Wei, the current minister of MIIT revealed on the same day when the Alliance was formed that ICV is a high ground whereby China can strategically seize the future of the auto industry and is an important opportunity to upgrade China’s auto industry from merely big to also being strong. The minister also indicated that China is formulating the overall development plan for ICV and is drafting regulations on ICV testing on public roads.
Recently, more developed countries have facilitated their legislation for automated driving. For example, on 12 May 2017, the German parliament (the Bundestag, the lower house and the Bundesrat, the upper chamber) has approved the amendments of German Road Traffic Act (Straßenverkehrsgesetz, StVG) to allow automated driving. Australia and Japan also issued guidelines and regulations for road testing of automated driving in June 2017. In the market, traditional and new car makers and technology companies are accelerating their investment and products development in automated driving.
It is clear that the China government is keen to avoid lagging behind the competition in respect of automated driving. Based on the regulations it appears that China sees the development of ICV as a good opportunity to overtake incumbents in China’s auto industry. It is anticipated that more guidelines and regulations will be in place in China soon to further boost the development of ICV.
