Nissan to launch driverless travel service in China

The 5th China International Import Expo (CIIE) is currently ongoing. This event is holding in Shanghai from November 5 – 10, 2022. On November 6, Nissan (China) Investment Co., Ltd. announced the Nissan Travel Services Co., Ltd. at the CIIE. This service focuses on mobility services in China. It also continues to promote the upgrade of Nissan’s business in China. According to Nissan, its Travel Services Co., Ltd. has its headquarters in Suzhou. The company has the commitment to operate mobile travel services and auto taxis. Nissan has become one of the global car makers to set up a driverless travel service company in China.
In 2021 alone, Nissan’s data reveals that the company will sell over 1.38 million vehicles in China. This includes import cars, passenger cars and light commercial vehicles. According to information from WeRide, an auto driving company, WeRide will provide auto driving support for the Suzhou project. Founded in 2017, the company is an L4-level auto driving technology company. It is dedicated to develop auto car technology. It has carried out autonomous driving R&D, testing and operations in 25 cities around the world.
Driverless travel service – conditions for self driving vehicles
In China, there have been efforts to have a standard for driverless travel services. Specifically, these efforts are towards auto vehicles or self driving vehicles. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology is working with the Ministry of Public Security. Together, they now have a draft for carrying out self driving vehicle tests. The draft has the title, “Notice on Carrying out the Pilot Work of ICV Access and Road Traffic (Draft for Comment)”. ICV in the title means Intelligent Connected Vehicle. This report is on both ministry website and is now open to the public. They are asking for public opinion. This is the first attempt at such a draft worldwide. Thus, it is a document for the world to study and probably upgrade.
Pilot content
The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and the Ministry of Public Security must be aware of all tests. For all road tests in China, both ministries will select qualified road car brands. They will also select intelligent network vehicles. These vehicles will have self driving or auto driving functions. Of course, the functions must meet the standards for mass production. This means that not all brands will eventually qualify for the initial tests. The strict selection of these intelligent network vehicles means that they have passed access tests. The details of the test are not in the draft. However, we think the test will involve testing the vehicle in a no traffic space.
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Vehicles will carry out road tests in “limited public road areas of the pilot cities”. This will be after passing the initial test. In this notice, the auto driving functions by the ICVs refer to Level 3 driving automation. It also refers to the Level 4 driving automation (highly auto driving) function. Initial tests will only have to pass Level 3 so as to partake in Level 4 testing.
Pilot goal
The goal of these tests is to guide ICV brands and vehicle users. This will improve their capacity building. It also aims to ensure safety and promote the function and performance of ICV products. Furthermore, the tests serve as an constant upgrade of the industry ecology. The test demonstrations will also accumulate management experience to improve the product. These will promote and improve the production access management system. It will also improve the road traffic safety management system for intelligent network vehicles.
Pilot city conditions
Of course, not all cities will qualify for these tests. The choosen cities will have certain conditions that they have to meet. The city shall have local standards or management policy. It will also have organization and coordination mechanisms. There will be policy guarantee conditions. These conditions will support the pilot program of ICV access and road traffic. Also, it shall have the design and operation of the self driving function of ICVs for the pilot program. There are other necessary physical conditions. They include
Public roads
Traffic structures
Communication structures
High-precision maps, etc.
All these structures must work with actual conditions of road traffic management. Also, the traffic structures of the pilot roads shall meet the standards of national laws. They will also meet old laws and standards. Also, these cities will also show
good intelligent Network vehicle road test
application basis
local or area intelligent network vehicle safety monitoring plan
vehicle network security and data security management ability
safety hazards and emergency handling ability
other safety management conditions
Conditions for a pilot auto mobile brand
The brand will be one that has the ability to design and verify auto mobile products. These products must come with auto driving functions. Their auto vehicles must also have
data security
software upgrade
risks and emergencies and other security assurance ability
intelligent network vehicle product safety monitoring service plan
The brand can monitor the safety status of pilot vehicles. It can also have a reporting mechanism.
Pilot product conditions
The pilot product shall meet the access standard of road motor vehicle products. It will comply with the following rules
Administrative Measures for the Access of Road Motor Vehicle Manufacturers and Products Administrative Regulations on the Access of New Energy Vehicle Manufacturers and Products
Pilot products will also comply with safety rules. It should meet the test standards of the clone, closed site, actual road usage. Pilot products will comply with the technical standards of self driving function products.