Shanghai eyes connected car projects with new testing zone

Lingang, a port town at the southeastern tip of Shanghai, is looking to attract more connected vehicle projects with its newly unveiled testing and demonstration zone, according to official sources.

On Friday, the Shanghai Lingang Autonomous and Informationalized Vehicle Integrative Testing and Demonstration Zone officially opened, putting into operation the 26.1-kilometer open road test area and the 3-square-kilometer closed testing area for connected vehicles.

"Compared to existing test areas across the nation, the test and demonstration area in Lingang is fully covered with 4G and 5G networks, and it offers a larger area for testing and well-designed test scenarios," said Gu Changshi, chief planner for industrial development with the Shanghai New Lingang Area Development Administration.

"The 26.1-km open road available for testing earlier this year has already attracted several enterprises to test their autonomous driving and applications, and together with the closed test area, the zone hopes to welcome more enterprises to test their products and facilitate the application of autonomous driving technology," said Cang Xuejun, general manager of Shanghai Lingang Intelligent Connected Vehicle Innovation Center Co Ltd.

To date, Lingang has already attracted vehicle manufacturers including SAIC Roewe，as well as the AI enterprises of iFlytek, Horizon Robotics and Nullmax. The zone also aims to form a complete industrial chain for connected cars in the future.