China’s biggest self-driving technology companies, including Baidu and Didi Chuxing, have significantly scaled back their U.S. road trials and in some cases canceled them altogether, according to industry reports and company officials. .
The cuts have been in place for the past several years before the U.S. Department of Commerce announced last month that it would ban self-driving software from China. This means that many Chinese players will not be affected as the regulation will only apply to new models launched from 2027.
The total number of miles traveled by Chinese self-driving cars on public roads in California, one of the most self-driving vehicle friendly states in the US, fell by nearly 74% in the 12 months ending in November 2023 compared to the same period last year. The total mileage was 121,428 miles. According to data from the state’s Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV).
This bucks the overall trend, with total self-driving miles during the same period increasing by nearly 60% year-over-year to a record 9 million miles, according to DMV data.
Baidu’s self-driving cars began road testing in Beijing in 2015. Photo: Handout
Chinese companies like Didi will see a 90% drop in self-driving test miles in 2023, and Didi is no longer actively participating in the self-driving car test program in California. Chinese startups QCraft, DeepRoute.ai and Inceptio, which had test drive records in 2021 and 2022, also withdrew, the DMV said in an emailed response to the Post.
For those who still hold test permits, the mileage driven has fallen sharply. From December 2022 to November 2023, test vehicles from AutoX and Pony.ai, a self-driving startup founded in Silicon Valley and headquartered in China, drove 84% more miles than the previous year. Mileage reduced by 82%.
