A mountainous stretch of highway in eastern Shandong, China, is to be dedicated to self-driving car testing.
The testing of connected self-driving vehicles is reportedly part of the country’s efforts to challenge the US in autonomous driving technology.
The South China Morning Post reports that the local Qilu Transportation Development Group earmarked a 26 kilometre-long highway for autonomous driving and vehicle-to-infrastructure communication, in cooperation with partners including Chinese telecom gear provider Huawei Technologies and China Mobile.
The project plans to build a world-class testing, research and development centre and incubator for driverless vehicles by 2023, according to The South China Morning Post. In the next five years, it intends to explore integrated innovative business models surrounding smart infrastructure, new energy, autonomous driving, logistics, tourism and more.
The test area aims to also offer information to help set relevant standards on autonomous cars and smart transport.
