The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Rural Development, and the Ministry of Transport have recently released the Basic Information on Joining the Pilot Consortium for the Access and Road Access of Intelligent Connected Vehicles. Nine consortia composed of automobile production enterprises and users such as NIO and Chang'an will be launched in seven cities including Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou, with pilot products covering three categories: passenger cars, buses, and trucks. This means that China's intelligent connected vehicles have taken a crucial step towards the large-scale application of advanced intelligent driving. The industrialization of intelligent connected vehicles is accelerating. According to the "Classification of Automotive Driving Automation" approved and released by the State Administration for Market Regulation and the National Standardization Administration, autonomous driving is divided into L0 to L5, corresponding to a total of six levels: "emergency assistance, partial driving assistance, combined driving assistance, conditional autonomous driving, highly autonomous driving, and fully autonomous driving.". L0-L2 is driving assistance, which belongs to low-level driving automation functions. The system assists humans in executing dynamic driving tasks, and the driving subject remains the driver; L3-L5 is autonomous driving and belongs to advanced driving automation functions Sun Hang, Chief Expert of Standards and Regulations for Intelligent Connected Vehicles at China Automotive Center, explained that the classification of automotive driving automation is one of the important standards in the field of intelligent connected vehicles. By L3, the system can achieve autonomous driving, allowing users to completely detach from driving tasks under specific scenario conditions, but users need to maintain their ability to take over and handle special situations in a timely manner. Typical functions include autonomous driving in congested highway environments and autonomous driving on urban expressways. It is worth noting that the first batch of companies to enter and pilot on the road are not individual car companies, but a "consortium" composed of car companies and users. That is, 9 car companies are responsible for producing products that meet the required level, and testing is provided by relevant platforms. Taking GAC Aion as an example, its new energy vehicles can enter the pilot list, which not only requires technical research and production support from GAC Passenger Cars, but also operational support from Guangzhou Qichen Technology Co., Ltd. The latter, also known as Ruqi Chuxing, is an intelligent mobile travel platform under GAC Group. NIO is the only new car making force among the 9 selected car companies. "The pilot qualification obtained this time is a concentrated reflection of NIO's system capabilities in intelligent driving research and development infrastructure, software and hardware redundancy design, and comprehensive safety guarantee." Ren Shaoqing, Vice President of NIO's intelligent driving research and development, said that as of June 13 this year, the total user mileage of NIO's navigation assistance NOP/NOP+has exceeded 1 billion kilometers, becoming China's first navigation assistance product to exceed 1 billion kilometers. At the same time, data accumulation also supports advanced intelligent driving technology to become safer and more reliable. With the advent of the era of automotive intelligence, advanced intelligent driving has become the focus of competition among major car companies. Previously, several car brands, including Mercedes Benz, BMW, Zhiji, Changan, Jihu, Shenlan, Avita, Celes, BYD, etc., announced that they have obtained L3 autonomous driving test licenses. What is the relationship between this and the pilot program for admission and road traffic? "Enterprises obtain corresponding testing licenses, which are mainly used in the product development process to verify the safety of products in actual road traffic operating environments through actual road testing." The relevant person in charge of the Equipment Industry Department of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology pointed out that sufficient product development testing and verification is an important foundation for subsequent product mass production applications and also an important foundation for this pilot project. As of the end of April 2024, China has opened over 29000 kilometers of intelligent connected vehicle testing roads, issued more than 6800 testing demonstration licenses, and the total road testing mileage has exceeded 88 million kilometers. A batch of intelligent connected vehicle products equipped with autonomous driving functions have undergone extensive research and development, testing and verification, and some products have certain mass production application conditions The person in charge stated that on the basis of conducting road testing and demonstration applications in the early stage, organizing and carrying out pilot projects for the admission and road use of intelligent connected vehicles, promoting the road use and promotion of mass-produced vehicle models, is conducive to accelerating the improvement of the technical level of intelligent connected vehicle products, effectively promoting the iteration and optimization of the industrial ecosystem, and accelerating the industrialization process of intelligent connected vehicles. Does the four departments' decision to enter the pilot consortium mean that their intelligent connected vehicles with autonomous driving functions will soon be able to travel on the road? In response to questions from reporters, the relevant person in charge of the Equipment Industry Department of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology explained that the organization and implementation of the pilot project is divided into five stages: pilot application, product access pilot, road traffic pilot, pilot suspension and withdrawal, and evaluation and adjustment. At present, only completing the selection stage of pilot application does not mean that intelligent connected vehicles with autonomous driving functions have obtained admission permits or are allowed to travel on the road. Next, the four departments will determine the consortium that will enter the pilot application stage and guide them in carrying out the pilot implementation. Products included in the pilot program can only submit admission applications to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology after completing testing and safety assessments. For intelligent connected vehicle products that have obtained admission permits, the traffic management department of the public security organs shall guide the implementation of road traffic pilot projects within the designated public road areas of pilot cities. Specifically, the pilot program for product admission includes two stages: product admission testing and safety assessment, and product admission licensing. Automobile production enterprises entering the pilot program should refine and improve their testing and safety assessment plans. After joint confirmation by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and the Ministry of Public Security, product testing and safety assessment should be carried out under the supervision of provincial competent departments and government departments of vehicle operating cities. After passing the safety assessment and meeting the mandatory inspection requirements for road motor vehicle products, a product admission application is submitted, and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology makes a decision on whether to grant admission. For those who decide on admission, restrictive measures such as setting an admission validity period and implementing regions shall be implemented. The intelligent connected vehicle products that have obtained admission shall be registered by the traffic management department of the public security organs in accordance with the law, and pilot projects for road traffic shall be carried out within the designated area. Those engaged in transportation operations should also possess operational qualifications for the corresponding business category and meet operational management requirements. "The driving speed is slow or even fast", "a radish is blocked in the road, hundreds of people can't walk", "the green light stops, and the red light rushes into the middle of the road"... Recently, some roast about the rapid running of radishes appeared on the message board and the Internet in Wuhan. This indicates that people still have a lack of trust in the safety of the pilot operation of autonomous driving that has been carried out in some urban areas. Entering L3 level means that the control of security risks will rise to the top priority. "Safety" has become the most important keyword in the orderly implementation of intelligent connected vehicle access and road traffic pilot in four departments. Zhu Yunyao, Deputy Chief Engineer of the Political Research Consulting Center of the China Academy of Automotive Engineering, stated that according to the content released by the four departments, the pilot work will follow the principle of "starting with a small incision and implementing with conditions", comprehensively consider policy design, implementation guidelines, safety assessment, safety measures, etc., consolidate the responsibilities of all parties, and ensure the safe implementation of the pilot work. One is to strictly limit the application scenarios for accessing intelligent connected vehicle products; Secondly, develop guidelines as a safety framework for admission pilot projects; The third is to conduct systematic evaluations; The fourth is to improve security measures to ensure security. "Safety is the primary consideration in this pilot work." Zhu Yunyao believes that autonomous vehicle are different from the safety boundary of traditional vehicles, and their safety involves functional safety, expected functional safety, network safety, data safety, radio safety, road traffic safety, etc. Automobile production enterprises and users should strictly implement various safety measures in accordance with pilot requirements to ensure the orderly progress of pilot work. "Many car companies around the world are currently researching and developing autonomous driving technology, but ultimately it all depends on the maturity, safety, reliability, cost, and consumer experience of the technology. Merely joining in and telling stories can make everyone happy, and it is destined to be unsustainable." Li Shufu, Chairman of Geely Holding Group, believes that the popularization of completely autonomous vehicles must be based on mature artificial intelligence technology and high process chip technology, while also being safer, more reliable, and more cost-effective than natural person driving. Otherwise, it will be difficult for completely autonomous vehicles to be widely popularized. The integration of bicycle intelligence and vehicle road cloud is not contradictory. In January of this year, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of Natural Resources, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Rural Development, and the Ministry of Transport jointly issued a notice on the pilot work of "vehicle road cloud integration" application for intelligent connected vehicles. What is the difference between the pilot of "vehicle road cloud integration" and the pilot of access and on road traffic? The relevant person in charge of the Equipment Industry Department of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology stated that the "Vehicle Road Cloud Integration" pilot program takes cities as the application subject, aiming to carry out the construction of intelligent roadside infrastructure and cloud control basic platforms, form a unified vehicle road collaboration technology standard and testing evaluation system, improve road traffic safety guarantee capabilities, promote large-scale demonstration applications and explore new business models. The pilot projects for admission and road access are jointly declared by automobile production enterprises and users. Conduct pilot projects for admission and road use by selecting intelligent connected vehicle products that meet the conditions. The goal of the pilot work is, on the one hand, to guide intelligent connected vehicle production enterprises and users to strengthen capacity building, promote product functionality, performance improvement, and iterative optimization of the industrial ecosystem while ensuring safety. On the other hand, it is based on pilot empirical accumulation of management experience, supporting the formulation and revision of relevant laws, regulations, and technical standards, accelerating the improvement of the production access and road traffic safety management system for intelligent connected vehicles. At the same time, we will coordinate development and safety, strengthen effective response to the risks that may arise from the application of autonomous driving technology, and promote the high-quality development of the intelligent connected new energy vehicle industry. However, in accelerating the pilot application of "vehicle road cloud integration" for intelligent connected vehicles and the pilot access and road traffic for intelligent connected vehicles, there is currently considerable controversy in the industry around the two technological routes of bicycle intelligence and "vehicle road cloud integration". For example, Tesla's new FSD already has autonomous driving and 100% autonomous driving. Now that it has bicycle intelligence, why still use cloud collaboration? The so-called intelligent bicycles refer to "smart cars", while "vehicle road cloud integration" refers to real-time dynamic interaction and linkage between vehicles, roads, people, and the environment. Li Jun, an academician of the CAE Member, honorary president of the Chinese Society of Automotive Engineering, and professor of Tsinghua University, believes that "bicycle intelligence and 'vehicle road cloud integration' are not two independent technical routes, and they have a mutually reinforcing role. Vehicle intelligence is the basis of 'vehicle road cloud integration', and 'vehicle road cloud integration' can provide an enabling role for vehicles." "There is no contradiction between bicycle intelligence and 'vehicle road cloud integration', which belongs to a technological development process.". Li Keqiang, vice president of the Chinese Society of Automotive Engineering, academician of the CAE Member, professor of Tsinghua University, and chief scientist of the National Intelligent Connected Vehicle Innovation Center, said, "Only by doing a good job in bicycle intelligence can we develop upward and achieve 'vehicle road cloud integration'. Single vehicle intelligence is the basis of 'vehicle road cloud integration', and 'vehicle road cloud integration' is an upgrade of single vehicle intelligence." (Le News Service)