China's biggest autonomous driving tech companies, including Baidu and Didi Chuxing, have drastically scaled back road tests in the US, and in some cases have ended them altogether, according to industry reports and company sources.

The cutbacks, made over the past few years, preceded the announcement by the US Commerce Department last month that it would ban autonomous driving software from China. That means many of the Chinese players will not be affected as the regulation only applies to new models released starting from 2027.

The total distance driven by Chinese autonomous cars on public roads in California, one of the most self-driving vehicle friendly states in the US, dropped almost 74 per cent to 121,428 miles in the 12 months ending November 2023, compared with a year earlier, according to data from the state's Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV).

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That goes against the overall trend, in which DMV data shows that total autonomous mileage reached a record 9 million miles in the same period, up nearly 60 per cent year on year.

Baidu's self driving cars began road test in Beijing in 2015. Photo: Handout alt=Baidu's self driving cars began road test in Beijing in 2015. Photo: Handout>

Chinese companies like Didi saw a drop of 90 per cent in self-driving test mileage in 2023, and Didi is no longer active in the autonomous-vehicle testing programme in California. QCraft, DeepRoute.ai and Inceptio, Chinese start-ups that had test driving records in 2021 and 2022, have also pulled out, DMV said in an emailed response to the Post.

For those still holding test permits, there have been sharp drops in mileage. Test vehicles from AutoX and Pony.ai, both autonomous driving start-ups founded in Silicon Valley with headquarters in China, travelled 84 per cent and 82 per cent less between December 2022 and November 2023, compared with the previous year.

Baidu, whose autonomous driving unit operates under the Apollo brand, saw its mileage decline 34.5 per cent during the period. The company, which is a leading autonomous driving player in China, still has a California permit to test cars both with and without a safety driver. Baidu's last collision report to the DMV was in October 2023.

None of the companies immediately responded to a request for comment.

Two engineers who worked for Chinese self-driving companies in the US said that they were active in road tests in the country because it established a regulatory framework earlier, and there was a large talent pool available.

However, one said that most of the Chinese companies have cut back on their operations in the US due to growing tensions between Washington and Beijing, and because major Chinese cities have built up their road test environment in recent years.

A self-driving car from Pony.ai seen in Nanshan district, Guangzhou, February 6, 2018. Photo: Sarah Dai alt=A self-driving car from Pony.ai seen in Nanshan district, Guangzhou, February 6, 2018. Photo: Sarah Dai>

California started its autonomous-vehicle testing programme in 2014, after 2012 state legislation allowed such operations on the road. Although companies like Baidu and Zhengzhou Yutong Bus were able to conduct one-off road tests in China as early as 2015, it was only on a small scale. Beijing and Shanghai issued their first batch of test permits to self-driving companies in December 2017 and March 2018, respectively. This year, the central Chinese city of Wuhan became the focus of attention after it allowed a fleet of around 500 Baidu robotaxis to operate on some of its busiest roads.

Amid current geopolitical tensions, Chinese autonomous driving companies that conducted research in the US were subject to scrutiny. Last year, some US lawmakers proposed a crackdown on Chinese vehicle start-ups over data privacy issues. In February, the US commerce department announced an investigation into foreign-made hardware and software in connected cars, particularly from China.

Last month, it proposed a new rule that would ban Chinese hardware and software integrated into the vehicle connectivity system, as well as its automated driving system.

This article originally appeared in the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the most authoritative voice reporting on China and Asia for more than a century. For more SCMP stories, please explore the SCMP app or visit the SCMP's Facebook and Twitter pages. Copyright © 2024 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.

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