On Dec. 27, the Guangdong-Macao In-Depth Cooperation Zone in Hengqin (Hengqin), the Qianhai Shenzhen-Hong Kong Modern Service Industry Cooperation Zone of Shenzhen (Qianhai), the Nansha District of Guangzhou (Nansha), and Baoan District of Shenzhen (Baoan) in Guangdong jointly signed a cooperative agreement for the mutual recognition of the pilot demonstration applications for intelligent connected vehicles in Nansha district. Four companies including Pony.ai, Ruqi Mobility, Cowa Robot, and Lobo Kuaipao were authorized as the first batch of pilot enterprises for mutual recognition cooperation.

Four companies were authorized as the first batch of pilot enterprises.

Following the signing of the agreement, autonomous driving demonstration vehicles will freely travel across multiple pilot locations in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA), providing cross-city autonomous driving services in major scenarios such as airports and high-speed rail stations. At the same time, autonomous trucks will be able to conduct cross-city cargo transportation in multiple locations, facilitating the implementation of more commercial scenarios.

Currently, the development of intelligent connected autonomous driving is thriving in Nansha, Hengqin, and Qianhai. As early as 2017, Nansha began working in the field of intelligent connected vehicles. Last month, Pony.ai, located in Nansha, was officially listed on Nasdaq. Recently, Pony.ai also partnered with GAC Group to launch a fleet of 1,000 Aion Robotaxi vehicles in the GBA by 2025.

According to Mo Luyi, Vice President of Pony.ai, the introduction of the mutual recognition mechanism for intelligent connected vehicles in the GBA injects new vitality into the development of the industry and provides broader development opportunities for autonomous driving companies. She said, "Pony.ai will fully leverage this policy advantage, deepen cooperation and promote the collaborative development of intelligent connected vehicles in the GBA."

Sun Lei, Vice President of Ruqi Mobility, stated, "The mutual recognition cooperation for the demonstration application of intelligent connected vehicles lays a policy foundation for accelerating the innovation of autonomous driving technology and promoting the commercialization and scaling of autonomous driving. As a pioneer in this field, Ruqi Mobility will collaborate with more industry partners to continuously expand the scope of Robotaxi operations, helping the GBA to build a world-class intelligent connected vehicle industry cluster and form a unified and open transportation service market."

The seminar on the mechanism and rule alignment in the GBA.

In addition, a seminar on the mechanism and rule alignment was successfully held in Nansha. Around 100 participants attended, including representatives from Hong Kong and Macao, and nine cities in the Pearl River Delta, four major cooperation platforms (Hengqin, Qianhai, Nansha, and Hetao), industry representatives, and experts and scholars. They discussed the ways to enhance integration, achieve complementary advantages and coordinate development in the GBA.