Aptiv PLC, a global technology company that spun off from Delphi Automotive in 2017, is expanding its autonomous driving capabilities in the Chinese market with the establishment of the company’s China Autonomous Mobility Center.
The opening of Aptiv’s China Autonomous Mobility Center extends Aptiv’s autonomous driving operations beyond current operations in Boston, Singapore, Pittsburgh and Las Vegas, establishing Shanghai as another one of the company’s major autonomous driving engineering hubs. The center will focus on development and application of the company’s L4 autonomous driving technology.
“With high market acceptance to autonomous driving in China, we see a strong demand for autonomous driving technologies in the Chinese market,” said Karl Iagnemma, president of Aptiv Autonomous Mobility. “We are excited to expand to the Chinese market, bringing our autonomous driving expertise and capabilities to the region. This expansion is significant for China, and globally, as it takes us one step closer to broader adoption of automated mobility.”
To coincide with testing, the company is actively in discussions with potential partners for mapping and commercial deployment of Aptiv’s vehicles in China. This is consistent with the company’s approach in other markets. It allows Aptiv to gain real-world experience with the general public and supports broader technology and IP development, two critical components to grow commercial deployment and develop future mobility solutions.
Aptiv was the first to commercially deploy autonomous vehicles globally. It has been giving rides to consumers in Las Vegas since May 2018, in partnership with ride-hailing app, Lyft, and is conducting Automated Mobility on Demand research, development and testing in Boston, Pittsburgh and Singapore.
To date, Aptiv’s commercial program has provided 40,000 paid autonomous rides, servicing more than 2,100 destinations across the city of Las Vegas and Clark County, while maintaining a nearly perfect average passenger rating of 4.95 out of five stars.
