Recently, it has been reported that after Tesla's Full Self Driving (FSD) enters China, it will authorize SAIC Group to produce Robotaxis (autonomous taxis).
This is fake news. Tesla has not previously communicated with SAIC Group or domestic car companies, "Tesla China officials told China Business News on November 19th. Officials from SAIC Group also stated that there is no relevant information.
The reporter noticed that Robotaxi is currently expected to be the first commercial application direction for Tesla FSD. Last month, Tesla just released Robotaxi service, two fully autonomous driving models Cybercab and Robovan.
SAIC Group has also made many layouts in the field of Robotaxi. At the technical level, the Saike Intelligent Robotaxi has been tested and operated in the Lingang New Area of Shanghai for one year, with a total mileage of over 300000 kilometers. It is planned to eliminate the co pilot safety officer by the end of this year; At the application level, Xiangdao Robotaxi, a subsidiary of Xiangdao Travel, fully integrates resources such as SAIC Motor Passenger Vehicle, Saike Intelligent, Momenta, etc., with a service order volume exceeding 300000.
Tesla and SAIC cooperation denied
According to research by Tianfeng Securities, Tesla plans to introduce its FSD technology into the Chinese market and may authorize SAIC Group to carry out Robotaxi business. Tesla and SAIC Group have had two rounds of communication, with Geely Automobile also participating, but there is currently no clear conclusion or details.
However, Tesla China immediately refuted the rumors; Shanghai Group also stated that there is currently no relevant news.
However, there have been frequent reports of Tesla FSD landing in China this year. In June, the Shanghai Autonomous Driving Demonstration Zone issued road test licenses to Tesla, and FSD may be conducting tests; In September, Tesla's AI team released a global deployment roadmap for FSD functionality, planning to launch it in China and Europe in the first quarter of next year, but still awaiting regulatory approval.
It is worth mentioning that on November 8th, Tesla just obtained authorization for the "Automotive Privacy Protection" logo released by the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, becoming one of the first car companies to pass the evaluation.
According to public information, Tesla, as one of the first enterprises to pass the national authoritative vehicle data testing, carried out the vehicle testing process in accordance with relevant regulations, standards, and testing procedures, and met the four compliance requirements of the national regulations such as "Several Provisions on the Management of Automotive Data Security" and GB/T 41871-2022 "Information Security Technology - Security Requirements for Automotive Data Processing": anonymization of facial information outside the vehicle, default non collection of cabin data, cabin data processing inside the vehicle, and significant notification of personal information processing.
Robotaxi is also an important application direction for Tesla FSD. On the morning of October 11th Beijing time, Tesla held a new product launch event with the theme of "WE ROBOT", announcing the Robotaxi service, two fully autonomous driving models Cybercab and Robovan, and launching wireless induction charging technology for Robotaxi.
The reporter learned that in the future, users can purchase Cybercab at an estimated cost of less than 30000 US dollars. Cybercab is expected to achieve mass production from 2026 to 2027, equipped with AI5 chips. The car does not have a charging port and will use wireless induction charging. Before the large-scale production of this model, users can experience Robotaxi on the S3XY model equipped with unsupervised FSD and the Cyber off-road travel vehicle. All Tesla produced cars will be compatible, provided that these models achieve fully autonomous driving without supervision after obtaining regulatory approval in the United States, and will gradually be promoted outside the United States.
According to Tesla CEO Elon Musk, the operating cost of Cybercab may decrease to approximately 20 cents per mile (about 0.9 yuan/kilometer) over time, and the cost including taxes and other fees in the United States is 30-40 cents (about 1.3-1.8 yuan), which everyone can afford. The average cost per mile for urban buses in the United States is $1 (approximately RMB 4.4 per kilometer, not the bus fare as it includes subsidies).
SAIC sets up a big game of autonomous driving
In fact, SAIC Group is also one of the earliest domestic car companies to lay out autonomous driving.
In June of this year, SAIC Group's two major autonomous driving projects for passenger cars and commercial vehicles were selected as the first batch of pilot projects for intelligent connected vehicles in China.
It is reported that two major consortia, namely Zhiji Automobile, Saike Intelligent, Saike Chuxing, and SAIC Hongyan and Youdao Zhitu, under SAIC, have successfully passed the preliminary review and selection evaluation of the four national departments. SAIC Group has also become the only company to successfully select for both projects.
Regarding the Robotaxi field, Yu Qiankun, CTO of Saike Intelligent, previously publicly stated that Saike Intelligent Robotaxi has been tested and operated in the Lingang New Area for one year, with a testing area of approximately 68 square kilometers and a total mileage of over 300000 kilometers so far. We have received the quota for 5 vehicles in the first batch, and our third-generation product is currently under development. It is estimated that more than 40 vehicles will be launched by the end of the year. By the end of the year, we may also consider officially canceling the co pilot safety officer and achieving true Robotaxi.
It is reported that Saike Intelligence is mainly a technology supplier, and the specific Robotaxi operators are Shanghai Jinjiang Taxi and "sister enterprises" Xiangdao Travel. Among them, Xiangdao Robotaxi has become the first L4 autonomous driving operation platform in China with a background in the automotive industry, fully integrating SAIC Motor's industrial advantages such as passenger cars, SAIC Smart, and Momenta.
The reporter learned from Xiangdao Travel that as early as December 2021, Xiangdao Robotaxi had launched C-end services in Jiading District of Shanghai and Xiangcheng District of Suzhou. In February 2022, Xiangdao Robotaxi was selected as one of the first demonstration application projects for the "unveiling and leading" of intelligent connected vehicles in Shanghai; In April 2023, Xiangdao Robotaxi was awarded the first batch of Shanghai Intelligent Connected Rental Demonstration Operation Notice and Demonstration Operation Certificate; In July of the same year, Xiangdao Robotaxi, together with Saike Intelligent and Antu Auto X, fully launched demonstration operations in Jiading District.
According to relevant statistical data, as of the end of May this year, the order volume of Xiangdao Robotaxi service has exceeded 300000, with more than 300 open points.
In August of this year, Ni Licheng, CEO of Xiangdao Travel, told reporters that Xiangdao Travel will further build and improve the layout of the smart travel industry, promote innovative operation of Xiangdao Robotaxi, and based on the future strategy of full platform artificial intelligence, empower drivers and passengers to experience and improve platform operation efficiency.
As a high-end pure electric brand under SAIC Group, Zhiji Automobile has also invested a lot of resources and energy in the field of autonomous driving, hoping to stand out in the fiercely competitive market.
At the Brand Intelligent Driving Technology Day on October 28th, Zhiji Automobile announced that its IM AD 3.0 has completed a generational evolution from "most human like" to "intuitive", injecting artificial intelligence generated "intuition" into the intelligent driving system, officially entering a new era of "intuitive" intelligent driving.
The relevant person in charge of Zhiji Automobile stated that based on the "one-stop intuitive intelligent driving big model" jointly created by Zhiji Automobile and Momenta, Zhiji Automobile has become the first brand in the industry to have L2, L3, and L4 level intelligent driving mass production capabilities.
It is reported that Zhiji Automobile has launched the "No Map City NOA" for all models nationwide and initiated L2+road testing in the European market; L3 level autonomous driving has also entered the countdown to mass production, and Zhiji Automobile has been selected as one of the first "L3 Access and Road Test Joint Venture List" in China. It is expected to officially meet the mass production conditions for L3 level autonomous driving solutions in 2026; In addition, it is expected to obtain the first batch of "L4 level driverless road test licenses" within this year, achieving the first autonomous vehicles on the road.