WeRide to raise investment in next-generation autonomous driving tech as Beijing seeks to cut manufa

Guangzhou-based WeRide, which has deployed its autonomous bus known as robobus in 18 cities across the globe, said it would become faster and easier to commercialise its technologies as the costs of key components like the sensors used to detect range and motion come down.

In a written reply to questions from the Post, WeRide said it would “continue to invest in research and development as well as commercialise its technologies to maintain a leading position in the industry.”

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Baidu wins permits to offer fully driverless robotaxi service in Beijing

The company said it would expand the scale of its robobus trials – which mainly use L4 technology – in Wuxi in eastern China’s Jiangsu province, and Guangzhou, this year.

In the designated area at Wuxi Economic Development Zone, dozens of autonomous buses are already operating.

“Driverless vehicles save human resource costs, and it is the technology the Chinese government will encourage technology companies to develop,” said Yin Ran, an angel investor in Shanghai.

“Autonomous driving technology will be widely adopted for commercial use in the coming one or two years.”

Autonomous driving will save about 1.8 trillion yuan (US$260.5 billion) in labour costs in China by 2030 when thousands of trucks become driverless, UBS analyst Xu Bin predicted in September last year.

To enhance efficiency in the manufacturing sector, Beijing has been striving to slash logistics costs to boost companies’ profitability.

WeRide, Baidu’s Apollo and Pony AI, are viewed as China’s top three autonomous driving technology companies.

Apollo and Pony have also received licences to operate autonomous taxis, or robotaxis, in cities like Wuhan, the capital of central China’s Hubei province, and Beijing.

Their ultimate goal is safe and reliable L5 technology, which means a vehicle does not need any human intervention under any circumstances.

Although L4 is being trialled by some commercial vehicles in designated areas, level-3 (L3) autonomous driving – the lowest level that does not require hands on the steering wheel at all times – is the next realistic step for passenger cars.

A vehicle with L3 autonomous driving capability allows drivers to safely take their attention off the road in certain traffic conditions.

Founded in 2017 by Tony Han, a former chief scientist at Baidu’s autonomous driving unit, WeRide also provides the technology for robotaxi, robovan, and robot street sweeper businesses.

Its clients include car assemblers and vehicle component makers. The company can operate robotaxi or robobus businesses too.

It is now testing and operating driverless vehicles in 25 cities in five countries.

The company said its WeRide SS 5.1 system could help a production model to meet L3 autonomous driving standard.

WeRide also said that with the latest new-generation Lidars – light detection and range sensors – the cost of the key component in autonomous driving has been slashed, providing a significant boost to the development of driverless cars.

Lidar sensors measure distance using laser beams to generate highly accurate two or three dimensional maps of items surrounding the vehicle.

Tesla, whose chief executive Elon Musk was a Lidar sceptic because of its installation cost, uses an array of cameras, global positioning system and radar in its electric cars.

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