By Qiaoyi Li and Brenda Goh
Beijing – China's capital Beijing passed new regulations on Tuesday to promote autonomous driving technology in the city, with authorities planning to eventually allow self-driving public buses and taxis.
Autonomous vehicles that pass road tests and safety tests will be allowed to apply for road tests, the state-backed Beijing Daily newspaper said, with the new rules taking effect on April 1.
The city supports the use of autonomous vehicles in private cars, city buses, trams and taxis, adding that it wants to promote the construction of smart roads to support transport.
In a separate announcement published on Monday, the central Chinese city of Wuhan also approved laws to encourage the development of smart connected vehicles.
Chinese authorities have tried to crack down on self-driving technology with at least 19 cities testing robotaxi and robobus, Reuters reported in August.
Companies with large robotic aircraft in use in China include Apollo Go, a subsidiary of technology giant Baidu (NASDAQ:), which plans to deliver 1,000 robotaxis to Wuhan by the end of 2024.
Pony.ai, which floated on the US market in November, plans to expand its robot fleet nationwide to 1,000 by 2026 from 250 this year.
Other firms looking at robotics opportunities in the world's biggest market include WeRide, AutoX and SAIC Motor.
US EV giant Tesla (NASDAQ:) is also looking to bring full self-driving (FSD) to China in the first quarter of 2025, pending regulatory approval, and has said it will start producing its robotaxi in 2026.