Author: A self-driving enthusiast
Introduction
Cruise, a leading self-driving car company, urges President Biden to help promote the deployment of self-driving cars on American roads. Notably, the company points out in the letter that the US autonomous driving market faces the risk of falling behind China.
Limitations on the Number of Self-Driving Cars
On May 17th, local time, Cruise CEO Dan Ammann submitted a letter to President Biden, calling for his support in canceling the limit on the number of self-driving cars exempted from safety standards through legislation. Currently, each manufacturer has a limit of 15,000 self-driving cars. Ammann wrote in the letter, “The current federal vehicle safety standards have become a unique obstacle to the deployment of self-driving cars in the United States.” According to current regulations, autonomous vehicles must achieve the same level of safety as human-controlled vehicles.
It is worth noting that two senators advocated canceling the legislative issue of the limit on self-driving car standards to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) in April this year. As planned, NHTSA initially allowed each automaker to have a quota of 15,000 exemptions for autonomous vehicles, and this number will be increased to 80,000 within three years.
According to NHTSA’s standards, self-driving cars must have at least the same level of driving safety as human drivers to qualify for exemptions. Ammann wrote in the letter, “Without your support and congressional action, the US autonomous vehicle manufacturing industry will be delayed, the development of AI will stagnate, and we will be surpassed by foreign competitors.”
Traditional automobile industry leaders, Alphabet’s Waymo, and other peers have been lobbying the US Congress for years to accelerate the deployment of self-driving cars in the United States. On May 11th, Reuters reported, citing relevant documents, that Waymo and Cruise have applied for permission to launch paid autonomous passenger and freight services in San Francisco.
Last October, Cruise announced plans to seek NHTSA approval to deploy a limited number of Cruise Origin self-driving cars, which have no steering wheels or pedals.
The Cruise Origin, jointly developed by General Motors and Honda, has two long seats facing each other and can easily accommodate four passengers. The car is expected to go into production in early 2023.
This is a very appropriate suggestion in the current situation because top self-driving companies have begun commercial operations, and the number of vehicles will limit the development and technology progress of businesses. Without limits, too many intelligent entities on the road may create uncontrollable situations.
The US Is Starting to Learn from China.The United States has been in a leading position in autonomous driving technology, but this advantage seems to be slowly narrowing. According to statistics, there are currently more than 3,000 registered autonomous driving companies in China, so many companies are testing and researching, promoting the rise of Chinese technology.
China’s advantage is not only reflected in technology, but even in policy. Cruise pointed out: “China’s support for autonomous driving cars is top-down and direct. The Chinese government has not imposed similar restrictions on the autonomous driving industry. We do not and do not need government funding. We only hope that you can help remove barriers to the development of the industry.”
Not only are companies starting to question it, but Biden has also publicly stated China’s rise. In February of this year, US President Biden said on February 11 local time: “China is surpassing the United States in infrastructure.”
Biden told a bipartisan group of senators at the White House: “They (China) have invested a lot of money, invested billions of dollars in dealing with traffic, environmental and other issues. They have a big lead in the railway field and they already have a 225 mph (about 362.1 km/h) train.” Biden also said that if the United States does not continue to develop infrastructure, China will surpass the United States.
Biden has been using the “China threat theory” to cause trouble. In another speech, he said that China has already “taken the lead” in the development of the electric vehicle industry. He called on the two parties in the US Congress to quickly reach a consensus and jointly develop infrastructure construction and employment plans to promote the development of the electric vehicle industry. He emphasized that “the future of the automotive industry is electric vehicles” and believes that “the United States is at a crossroads where it must make choices and we must go forward without hesitation.”
Biden believes that in the development of the electric vehicle industry, China has an obvious and leading advantage. China has a good battery manufacturing process for electric vehicles and has provided about 80% of the world’s power batteries. The United States cannot fall behind and must speed up the development of the electric vehicle industry. Of course, other countries besides the United States will also accelerate the development of the electric vehicle industry, and no one will stand still.Biden has repeatedly mentioned his plan to rebuild the US economy, and has urged the two parties in Congress to reach a consensus as soon as possible to approve the funding of over $2 trillion for the implementation of the infrastructure plan.
This article is a translation by ChatGPT of a Chinese report from 42HOW. If you have any questions about it, please email bd@42how.com.