Briefing: Shanghai opens up more public roads for testing autonomous vehicles

上海发布第二阶段自动驾驶开放测试道路 近90家企业申请路测 – 第一财经

What happened: Shanghai has begun the second phase of road testing for autonomous vehicles. The city is extending the total length of roads for testing smart vehicles from 5.6 kilometers to 37.2 kilometers. Now, autonomous vehicles are allowed to be tested on 12 public roads in Shanghai. Authorities revealed that over 90 companies have applied for licenses to test their vehicles on roads.

Why it’s important: China has been eager to boost the development of smart vehicles and autonomous driving technologies. Shanghai is the first city in China to allow car manufacturers to test smart vehicles on public roads. In March, the municipal government issued the country’s first batch of licenses for road testing to three carmakers—SAIC Motor, BMW and NIO.