Author: Andrew Xu

Elon Musk said on Thursday that Tesla expects to receive regulatory approval for its Full Self-Driving (FSD) advanced driver assistance system in Europe and China as early as next month, a move that could unlock a new source of revenue as global electric vehicle sales growth slows. “We hope to get Supervised Full Self-Driving approval in Europe, hopefully next month, and then maybe a similar timing for China,” Musk said during his first appearance at the World Economic Forum annual meeting in Davos. Approval in the two regions would mark a significant milestone for Tesla, which has been seeking to…

Chinese autonomous driving technology company WeRide said on Friday its global robotaxi fleet has surpassed 1,000 vehicles, marking a milestone the company described as a key step toward large-scale commercial deployment of autonomous mobility. The Nasdaq-listed firm said its fleet now totals 1,023 robotaxis, operating across more than 10 core cities worldwide. Fully driverless commercial services have already been launched in Guangzhou and Beijing in China, as well as in Abu Dhabi, according to the company. See also: WeRide CEO Says Only Three Firms Meet China’s Level 4 Robotaxi Standard WeRide said its Abu Dhabi robotaxi operations are approaching single-vehicle…

Automotive Intelligence and Control of China (AICC) said it has secured an airport shuttle bus order worth tens of millions of yuan, marking the start of large-scale deliveries for its Level 3 autonomous-driving platform designed for original equipment manufacturer (OEM) mass production. The contract was signed on Jan. 12 and focuses on deploying autonomous shuttle services in airport environments, AICC said. The collaboration is aimed at enabling “smart mobility, efficient connections, and round-the-clock operations,” using controlled airport scenarios to support automakers in accelerating the development and volume delivery of Level 3 autonomous vehicles. See also: Pony.ai and BAIC BJEV Deepen…

WeRide has launched a “WeRide Go” Mini Program on Tencent’s WeChat platform, allowing users to book robotaxi rides directly through the messaging app in parts of Guangzhou and Beijing, the company said. The Mini Program enables users to request autonomous rides without downloading a standalone application, giving WeRide access to WeChat’s user base of more than one billion people. Customers can search for “WeRide Go” within WeChat to access the service. See also: WeRide CEO Says Only Three Firms Meet China’s Level 4 Robotaxi Standard The new booking channel is currently available in Guangzhou’s Huangpu district and Beijing’s Yizhuang district,…

Baidu’s autonomous ride-hailing service Apollo Go has expanded its robotaxi operations to about 20 cities across China, as the company accelerates testing and deployment in major urban regions, according to a report by Chinese media outlet Lanjinger. Since late November last year, Apollo Go has launched new testing programmes in cities including Jiangmen and Dongguan in Guangdong province, the report said. The projects involve registered investments of about 50 million yuan ($7.2 million) in Jiangmen and 70 million yuan in Dongguan. Under the plans, Apollo Go aims to deploy at least 90 robotaxis in Jiangmen and around 1,000 vehicles in…

Chinese autonomous driving company Pony.ai and electric vehicle manufacturer BAIC BJEV said they have expanded their strategic partnership to support the development and commercialization of Level 4 autonomous robotaxis, as both companies seek to move beyond pilot operations. Under the updated agreement, the partners will cooperate on purpose-built robotaxi development, supply chain coordination, fleet operations and international market exploration. The expansion comes as more than 600 Arcfox Alpha T5 robotaxi vehicles have entered commercial service in Beijing and Shenzhen, following the model’s debut at the Shanghai Auto Show in April 2025, according to the companies. See also: Pony.ai Grows Robotaxi…

Xpeng said it will begin public road testing of robotaxis equipped with its VLA 2.0 software, marking a further step in the Chinese electric vehicle maker’s push toward higher levels of autonomous driving. The company’s chairman and chief executive, He Xiaopeng, said on Thursday that the robotaxis have already completed closed-venue testing conducted by third-party agencies. He made the announcement at a product launch event in Guangzhou, where Xpeng outlined its latest autonomous driving roadmap. See also: Xpeng CEO Compares Tesla FSD With VLA System, Eyes 2026 Catch-Up VLA, short for Vision-Language-Action, is Xpeng’s large-scale physical model designed to enable…

Pony.ai said on the final day of 2025 that its robotaxi fleet had grown to 1,159 vehicles, surpassing its full-year target of 1,000 units as the company accelerated deployment in the second half of the year. The fleet expansion gathered pace after the third quarter. As of Sept. 30, Pony.ai operated 961 robotaxis, of which 667 were seventh-generation models, the company said. The latest figures underscore rapid scaling as the autonomous driving firm pushes toward broader commercial adoption. Commercial operations advanced in the fourth quarter, when Pony.ai’s seventh-generation robotaxis began fully driverless service in Beijing, Guangzhou and Shenzhen. In November,…

A major Chinese state-owned automaker has selected ultra-high-definition radar technology from Arbe Robotics and Hirain Technologies for a Level 4 autonomous vehicle program, the companies said, underscoring continued investment in advanced perception systems for higher levels of vehicle autonomy. The program is scheduled to begin production in December 2026, with wider market deployment expected through 2027. The radar solution will be used to support autonomous driving functions in both urban and highway environments, where vehicles are expected to operate without human intervention under defined conditions. See also: China Approves First Level 3 Autonomous Driving Permits For Passenger Cars Under the…

Chinese electric vehicle maker Xpeng said a joint research paper with Peking University has been accepted by the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AAAI) 2026 conference, highlighting the company’s ongoing work in autonomous driving technologies. The paper, titled FastDriveVLA: Efficient End-to-End Driving via Plug-and-Play Reconstruction-based Token Pruning, was selected from 23,680 submissions, with 4,167 accepted for presentation, representing an acceptance rate of about 17.6%. See also: Xpeng Teases Updated P7+ With Dual-Power Options and Broader Global Rollout The research focuses on improving the efficiency of Vision-Language-Action (VLA) models, which are increasingly used in end-to-end autonomous driving systems to…

Great Wall Motor’s main brand Haval is set to adopt assisted driving solutions from Chinese smart driving technology company Momenta, marking a new business expansion for the autonomous driving supplier, local media reported. Momenta will provide its smart driving system for two upcoming models from Great Wall Motor, including the Haval Raptor, according to a report by local outlet Leiphone. The models equipped with Momenta’s technology are expected to be launched early next year, the report said. The vehicles will be positioned at the L2+ level of assisted driving capability, supporting highway navigation on autopilot (NOA) and automated parking functions,…

BYD has begun internal testing of mass-production-ready Level 3 (L3) autonomous driving systems in Shenzhen, working with local transportation authorities, Chinese media outlet Yicai reported. The automaker has so far completed more than 150,000 kilometres of real-world L3 validation on Shenzhen’s highways and urban expressways, covering scenarios such as nighttime driving, rain, and road construction, according to the report. See also: BYD Chairman Signals Technology-Driven Recovery as Sales Growth Slows BYD was among nine automakers selected in 2024 to participate in China’s first pilot programme for L3 autonomous driving market access and road use, which was approved by four national…

China’s LiDAR manufacturer Seyond said on December 16 that it has secured a designated supply partnership with GAC Group, with the first jointly developed vehicle scheduled to enter mass production in 2026. Based on publicly available information, the nomination involves one of GAC’s new energy vehicle brands. Under the agreement, Seyond will supply high-performance LiDAR hardware together with perception software solutions for the designated model. The collaboration is built on GAC’s research and development capabilities spanning Level 2 to Level 4 autonomous driving, as well as the automaker’s large-scale market presence. Seyond said the partnership is expected to provide extensive…

Xpeng has obtained permits to conduct Level 3 (L3) conditional autonomous driving road tests in its headquarters city of Guangzhou and has begun regular testing on public roads, local media outlet Yicai reported on Tuesday. According to the report, the permits allow Xpeng to carry out L3 autonomous driving tests on designated routes within Guangzhou. Xpeng vice president Yu Tao later confirmed the development, adding that the company expects “surprises” in the first quarter of next year. The move comes as China advances its regulatory framework for higher-level autonomous driving. On Monday, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT)…

Huawei’s Harmony Intelligent Mobility Alliance (HIMA) has begun internal testing of Level 3 (L3) conditional autonomous driving systems in Shenzhen, working in coordination with local transportation authorities, Chinese media outlet Cailian reported on Tuesday. According to the report, the pilot program differs from conventional research and development testing by focusing on real-world road conditions and data from everyday users. The aim is to assess system safety and product maturity while providing reference data to support the formulation of national policies governing L3 autonomous driving. See also: Huawei’s HIMA Reaches One Million Vehicle Deliveries in Under Four Years The initiative is…

Chinese bike-sharing company Hellobike has temporarily suspended its robotaxi operations in the central Chinese city of Zhuzhou following a collision involving pedestrians, local authorities said. Hellobike’s robotaxi service in Zhuzhou, located in Hunan province, has been halted with no timetable for resumption, authorities told the Southern Metropolis Daily in a report published on Monday. The suspension follows an incident on December 6, when a Hellobike autonomous vehicle collided with two pedestrians on a city street, triggering widespread discussion on Chinese social media platforms. See also: WeRide CEO Says Only Three Firms Meet China’s Level 4 Robotaxi Standard The company is…

China has granted its first Level 3 (L3) autonomous driving permits for conventional passenger vehicles, marking a policy breakthrough for the country’s smart driving industry and allowing limited deployment of conditionally automated driving systems on public roads. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) said it has approved two L3-capable models, one from Changan Automobile and another from Arcfox, the electric vehicle brand of Beijing Automotive Group (BAIC Group). The approvals allow the vehicles to operate autonomously under defined conditions on selected highways and urban expressways. See also: RoboSense Secures Near One Million-Unit LiDAR Order From Dongfeng Nissan Changan’s…

Black Sesame Technologies said on Dec. 12 that it has entered into a strategic partnership with autonomous driving developer DeepRoute.ai, establishing both business and capital ties as the two companies seek to speed up the development and commercialisation of advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS). Under the agreement, Black Sesame Technologies will provide its next-generation automotive-grade computing platforms along with a full development toolchain, while DeepRoute.ai will port and optimise its higher-level ADAS algorithms on the chips. The collaboration is intended to create an integrated chip-and-software stack suitable for large-scale deployment in production vehicles. See also: DeepRoute.ai to Launch Cost-Efficient, Production-Grade Robotaxi…

Chinese LiDAR manufacturer RoboSense said it has secured a major supply order from Dongfeng Nissan, the joint venture between Nissan Motor and Dongfeng Motor, highlighting its expanding role among global automakers operating in China. The company said it will provide digital LiDAR products for multiple Dongfeng Nissan models, with total orders close to one million units. Deliveries are scheduled to begin in 2026, according to RoboSense. Financial details were not disclosed. See also: RoboSense Becomes First Company to Deliver One Million Automotive LiDAR Units The announcement marks RoboSense’s second major order disclosed this month. Earlier, the company reported a large-scale…

China’s autonomous truck developer Trunk Technology (Beijing) Co Ltd has filed for a Main Board listing in Hong Kong, marking its formal entry into public capital markets, according to filings dated Dec. 11. The company, headquartered in Beijing’s Economic and Technological Development Zone, has appointed Guotai Haitong Securities as its sole sponsor. Trunk Technology is widely regarded as China’s first company to commercialise fully driverless transport solutions in port operations and has since expanded into broader logistics scenarios. See also: China Autonomous-Driving Developer CiDi Opens IPO Subscription in Hong Kong Trunk Technology has built a vertically integrated “vehicle–edge–cloud” technology stack…