Changan Automobile obtains L4-level Robotaxi testing license! Chongqing accelerates the development of the "Smart Car Capital"

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(Source: Upstream News)

On March 29, Changan Automobile officially announced that it has received approval for L4-level self-developed Robotaxi testing license in Chongqing, relying on the “Tianshu Intelligent” technology system to officially commence real-world testing of high-level autonomous taxis.

This marks a significant breakthrough for Changan in the field of intelligent driving, symbolizing that local automakers in Chongqing have entered a new stage in fully self-developed autonomous driving technology, laying a solid foundation for the future commercialization of intelligent mobility.

Fully Self-Developed L4 Implementation Reshapes Future Mobility Landscape

The approved L4-level autonomous driving falls under the category of highly automated driving, where vehicles can achieve completely unmanned driving in designated areas and scenarios without human driver intervention. With its self-developed Tianshu intelligent system, Changan has overcome the challenges of complex urban driving scenarios by integrating large models, end-to-end technology, and steer-by-wire chassis, achieving autonomous control in core aspects such as safety redundancy, perception decision-making, and emergency response.

Currently, 26 cities across the country have opened L4-level autonomous driving commercialization pilot projects, forming six core hubs: Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Chongqing, and Hangzhou, with technology companies like Baidu and Pony.ai competing with mainstream automakers.

Compared to most industry solutions that rely on external technologies, Changan’s fully self-developed model reduces technological dependency risks and better adapts to the complex road environment of Chongqing’s mountainous city, laying a solid foundation for subsequent large-scale testing and commercialization operations. The implementation of the L4-level Robotaxi testing license will promote the upgrade of Chongqing’s intelligent mobility ecosystem. As testing progresses, unmanned taxis will gradually be demonstrated in specific areas, driving the development of upstream and downstream industries such as automotive chips, intelligent sensors, and vehicle-road collaboration, activating new momentum in the intelligent connected vehicle industry.

From L3 to L4, Chongqing Accelerates the Creation of “City of Intelligent Vehicles”

As the leader in Chongqing’s intelligent connected new energy vehicle industry, Changan Automobile obtained the first L3-level autonomous driving license in the country on December 20 last year, becoming one of the few automakers simultaneously developing L3 and L4-level autonomous driving.

From conditional autonomous driving road access at L3 to real-world testing of unmanned taxis at L4, Changan Automobile’s technological advancement is a vivid reflection of Chongqing’s aspiration to build a city of intelligent connected new energy vehicles.

In recent years, Chongqing has anchored its goal of creating a “world-class intelligent connected new energy vehicle industry cluster,” continuously improving its policy system, building testing scenarios, and gathering industry resources. Chongqing has established a nationally leading vehicle-road collaboration testing demonstration area, with 17 road sections in the central urban area serving as pilot sections for intelligent connected vehicles’ access and road use. Intelligent connected vehicles with L3-level driving automation capabilities (i.e., conditional autonomous driving) or L4-level driving automation capabilities (i.e., highly automated driving) can conduct autonomous driving in these pilot sections.

This has also attracted automakers like Changan and Seres, as well as research institutions like China Automotive Research, to gather and form a complete industrial chain ecosystem of “complete vehicles - components - research and development - testing.” Qianli Technology is exporting the Robotaxi intelligent driving platform and commercial operation solutions to multiple cities worldwide.

At the same time, Chongqing’s mountainous terrain, complex interchanges, and variable weather have become the “ultimate testing ground” for autonomous driving technology. Changan Automobile’s Tianshu intelligent system has been specially optimized for scenarios involving steep slopes, sharp turns, and heavy fog, with its technological reliability undergoing rigorous validation.

In the future, as the L4-level Robotaxi testing progresses, Chongqing will further seize the initiative for the commercialization of autonomous driving, accelerating the construction of an integrated development pattern of “vehicles, roads, cloud, network, and maps,” injecting strong momentum into the creation of a world-class intelligent connected new energy vehicle city.

Upstream News reporter Yan Wei

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