Americans might not realize it, but there’s a race going on between the United States and China for leadership in autonomous cars.
America enjoys clear superiority in technical innovation — right now. Google and Tesla are leading the way, with start-ups like Otto and Cruise Automation coming on fast. But China has its own secret weapon: No other country in the world can match its ability to create industries via powerful, top-down mandates.
“Our biggest advantage is that we, as a socialist nation, can pool resources in a major mission,” Chinese President Xi Jinping said this week.
By 2020, China will have many more autonomous vehicles running on its roads than America simply because the People’s Republic will be quicker to pave the way with autonomous vehicle-friendly road rules and investments.
And being fast matters. In the autonomous car business, the artificial intelligence that drives robo-cars improves as it gathers on-the-road experiential data.
Another edge over the U.S.: less societal ambivalence. Chinese have no sentimentality about the freedom of driving. With hundreds of millions of new drivers taking to the road relatively recently, many would be happy to release the wheel if it would end of the chaotic, dangerous conditions that plague Chinese cities.
China has proven its ability to create breakthrough industries via government fiat, such as:
Magnetic Levitation. China runs maglev trains that transport people in quiet comfort at up to 430km per hour.
Electric Vehicles. Chinese will buy 600,000 EVs and plug-in hybrids this year, more than double the number in the U.S.
Solar Panels. China is by far the largest global manufacturer and market, accounting for one-fourth of all panels built worldwide.
Autonomous vehicles are China’s next major mission. China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology later this year will unveil a master plan for extensive highway driving by 2020 and fully autonomous urban driving by 2025.
Meanwhile in the U.S., a patchwork of federal, state and local legislation setting the rules of the road must be hacked through — a process that promises to hold the U.S. back while China forges ahead with its no-nonsense, top-down approach.
One reason for the sense of urgency in China: Chinese leaders throughout history have always feared “luan” or social chaos. And that’s what the country’s late but rapid transition to the automobile age has produced. Each year, China’s frenetic roads are home to more than 200,000 road fatalities, according to the World Health Organization. That compares to 33,000 in the United States.
Look for the Chinese to start with dedicated bus and fixed route taxi lanes for autonomous vehicles in major cities. Those pre-defined and measurable trips are the easiest to implement.
Read more of the original article in Forbes.
