Chinese electric vehicle (EV) leader BYD has reinforced its push to build and sell more cars fitted with level 3 (L3) autonomous driving systems after Beijing took its first step towards deregulating the technology.
The company collaborated with authorities in Shenzhen, where it was based, to test some of its cars ahead of mass production, according to China Business News. BYD confirmed the report, adding that it had completed more than 150,000 kilometres of real-world L3 testing.
The company did not elaborate on when production of its first L3 vehicles would start.
L3 allows cars to navigate streets by themselves, but drivers are still required to be fully alert to ensure that they can intervene under any circumstances, according to criteria set by global standards organisation SAE International.
L5, or fully autonomous driving, means a vehicle does not need human intervention under any circumstances.
