Hong Kong’s autonomous vehicle development is on par with international standards, with 63 licensed vehicles having run for a total of 240,000 kilometers since late 2024, the Transport Department said on Monday.
The development was revealed after department officers and a dedicated inter-disciplinary working group on promoting autonomous vehicle application inspected the North Lantau trial project, the first autonomous vehicle trial project, launched in December, 2024. The pilot license for this project was issued to Baidu Apollo International Ltd.
Derek Chung Cheuk-ming, the department’s chief electrical and mechanical engineer, said the project has achieved significant progress, citing technological advancements such as conducting passenger-carrying tests, expanding the test route, raising vehicle speed to 50 km per hour, and scaling up multi-vehicle operations from a single private car to 20 vehicles running simultaneously.
He added that these developments have contributed valuable data for the future deployment and commercial operation of autonomous vehicles.
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“The technological level is on a par with the mainland and other global markets,” said Chung. “Regarding key requirements like safety, stability, accuracy, and smoothness — once we have ensured that these metrics are satisfactory, we will consider conducting fully remote operation tests to realize driverless operations.”
He added that the working group will continuously examine the progress of all seven trial projects, offering assistance when needed, with the goal of promoting the safe and orderly application of autonomous vehicles.
Baidu Apollo is also trialing private vehicles in two other areas. Iris Wong Man-hei, senior project and business development manager for intelligent driving at Baidu, said that through testing in Hong Kong for over a year and with the expansion of the test area to Kowloon East and the Southern District, vehicles have adapted to Hong Kong’s right-hand driving system.
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“Tests in Hong Kong have achieved safe and smooth operations across a wide range of complex scenarios, including roundabouts, high-traffic roads, and busy intersections. All tests have so far operated smoothly and have not caused any traffic disruptions.”
She added that the company's Apollo RT6 is equipped with sensors such as LiDAR, a technology that measures distance by emitting and receiving light pulses, and cameras, which function like eyes to identify obstacles at different distances and ensure driving safety.
Contact the writer stacyshi@chinadailyhk.com
