BMW Group vehicles with L3 autonomous driving features have received official public-expressway test licenses in Shanghai. Earlier, BMW obtained certification and approval for their L3 autonomous driving solutions from the German Federal Motor Transport Authority (KBA). BMW models with this functionality are set for customer deliveries in Germany by Spring 2024.
IM Motors, the premium intelligent EV brand co-founded by SAIC Motor, Zhangjiang Hi-Tech, and Alibaba, has got highway/expressway autonomous driving test licenses in Shanghai for their L3-capable vehicles. Aside from L3 autonomous driving, IM’s Highway/Overpass and Urban NOA (Navigate on Autopilot) have made significant strides. On 12 December, the coverage of IM Highway/Overpass NOA officially expanded to include 333 cities’ expressways and 59 cities’ overpass road sections on the Chinese Mainland, totaling an extensive 389,000 km of applicable roads. The official version of the highway/elevated-road NOA in the newly-added regions has begun rolling out to all IM L7, LS7, and LS6 users.
XPeng has initiated a second phase of public testing for their HD map-free XNGP intelligent driving functions. Since the comprehensive OTA release of the new Xmart OS 4.4.0 version on 28 November, XPeng’s urban navigation assisted driving has been operational in 25 cities. This latest phase of public testing will encompass an additional 27 cities in China. XNGP, the maker’s second-generation intelligent assisted driving system, introduces intelligent driving features for city conditions (City NGP) and enhanced functionalities such as Highway NGP and VPA memory parking atop the foundational XPILOT system.
Li Auto announced the launch of their latest OTA 5.0 software, with significant enhancements in intelligent driving covering highways, urban ring roads, and city streets. This functionality supports lane changes, speed control based on road limits, maneuvering around construction sites, navigating congested lanes, urban junction driving, and alternate-route selection in 110 selected cities.
The Toyota Sienna Autono-Maas (S-AM) Robotaxi, equipped with autonomous driving software and hardware from Pony.ai, has secured permission to transport passengers with remote monitoring in Guangzhou. The sixth-generation system is built on the foundation of its predecessor’s multi-sensor fusion strategy, and introduces an affordable automotive-grade solid-state lidar. Since April 2023, Toyota’s S-AM vehicles equipped with Pony’s AD system have been conducting public road tests in Beijing and Guangzhou, accumulating over 1 million km of driving experience.
The University of Michigan, May Mobility, and the City of Detroit are joining forces to conduct AV testing. This collaborative effort is currently underway at the University of Michigan’s MCity test facility. It aims to ensure that the technology is robust enough to safely cater to the needs of older adults and people with disabilities in Detroit.
A U.S. judge has determined there is reasonable evidence to conclude that Tesla and its CEO Elon Musk knew their vehicles had unsafe, defective ‘Autopilot’ systems but still allowed the cars to be driven in areas “not safe for that technology”. The ruling last week from Judge Reid Scott, in the Circuit Court for Palm Beach County, means the family of a man who died in a collision while his Tesla’s Autopilot was engaged can go to trial and seek punitive damages from Tesla for intentional misconduct and gross negligence.
Over 2 million Tesla vehicles—nearly all of them ever sold in the U.S. market—are being recalled due to inadequate safeguards against driver misuse of the ‘Autopilot’ feature. Updates include increased prominence of visual alerts to remind drivers that they are still responsible for the vehicle’s operation; simplified engagement and disengagement of ‘Autopilot’; additional checks upon engaging Autopilot and while using the feature outside controlled access highways and when approaching traffic controls, and the threat of eventual suspension from ‘Autopilot’ use if the driver repeatedly fails to demonstrate continuous and sustained driving responsibility while the feature is engaged. Influential U.S. magazine Consumer Reports finds the recall insufficient, and the in-cabin cameras of recalled Teslas reportedly grow alarmingly hot with their increased usage after the recall.
WeRide’s autonomous driving mini-bus, the Robobus, started its passenger-filled journey from Qingdao Jiaodong International Airport to the airport food court. WeRide, in collaboration with local partners, deployed several Robobuses for the Jiaodong International Airport – Qingdao Airport Food Court autonomous microcirculation shuttle loop, covering 8.2 km. Presently, WeRide’s Robobuses are conducting road tests and operations in 19 cities globally, including Guangzhou, Beijing, Wuxi, Nanjing, and Abu Dhabi.
WeRide has received notification from the Land Transport Authority (LTA) of Singapore for Milestone 1 unmanned vehicle public road testing license (M1 license) and the T1 assessment self-driving vehicle public pathway testing license (T1 license). WeRide has become the world’s first and only tech company to possess autonomous driving licenses in China, the United States, the United Arab Emirates, and now Singapore.
