Driverless vehicles park themselves in rapidly expanding market

Zhang Xiang, a researcher at North China University of Technology in Beijing, said the pilot area is hugely significant in further accelerating the large-scale commercialization of autonomous driving technology nationwide.

He said other cities, such as Shanghai, along with Shenzhen and Guangzhou, Guangdong province, may soon follow suit in setting up similar commercial pilot areas for self-driving services.

IHS Markit said the value of the autonomous car service market will exceed 1.3 trillion yuan by 2030, accounting for 60 percent of the nation's ride-hailing market that year.

Li, the Baidu CEO, said China leads the world in self-driving technologies, but the absence of related policies is limiting the sector's development.

"The country that issues more innovative policies and takes the lead in realizing large-scale commercialization of autonomous driving will gain an upper hand in international competition," Li said.

He called for efforts to speed up the revision and implementation of traffic laws to bolster the large-scale commercial application of self-driving vehicles.

Li said that within a decade smart transportation can help end traffic jams in big cities. Smart transportation refers to a system that integrates elements such as autonomous vehicles, smart infrastructure, artificial intelligence, 5G and cloud computing.

In addition to congestion, Li said smart transportation can reduce road traffic accidents by 90 percent and cut carbon emissions.

By 2025, China is planning to realize scaled production of vehicles capable of conditional autonomous driving, along with the commercialization of highly autonomous vehicles in certain circumstances, according to a blueprint issued by the National Development and Reform Commission.

Yang Diange, a professor from the School of Vehicle and Mobility at Tsinghua University, said Level 4 self-driving technology will initially be deployed in taxis and trucks in designated areas. The large-scale application of such technology might be seen in private vehicles by 2030.