Permit obtained by XPeng G9 SUV for autonomous driving tests on public roads

China-based smart EV company XPeng has successfully obtained a Guangzhou Intelligent Connected Vehicle Road Test Permit. This makes the XPeng G9 the first unmodified commercial vehicle to qualify for autonomous driving tests on designated public roads in China.

The permit was granted on October 31, 2022, following approvals from the Industry and Information Technology Bureau, Public Security Bureau and the Transport Bureau of Guangzhou Municipality.

XPeng’s mass-produced G9 SUVs can now conduct autonomous driving tests on certain roads within Guangzhou, China, following software upgrades. No hardware reconfiguration is needed to enable the vehicles to conduct the tests.

“Securing the autonomous driving road testing permit for a commercial vehicle is a strong endorsement of our autonomous driving deep R&D and software capabilities,” said Dr Xinzhou Wu, Vice President of Autonomous Driving Center at XPeng. “Our approach by using mass-produced commercial vehicles to explore mobility solutions will build a strong foundation to realize economies of scale. Significant cost efficiency brings us another step closer to commercializing robotaxis in the future.”

The G9 autonomous driving road test vehicles use the same hardware suite as G9 commercial vehicles. This includes the sensors for perception, computing and vehicle control systems.