China’s Alibaba Group has been testing its own autonomous vehicle technology, the South China Morning Post reports, and is looking to hire an additional 50 self-driving vehicle experts. Alibaba’s rivals Baidu and Tencent have also been working on autonomous technology and last month, Baidu received the go-ahead from the Chinese government to begin testing its technology on Beijing roads. Tencent reportedly sent one of its autonomous vehicles for a ride on a Beijing highway earlier this month.
According to the South China Morning Post, which is owned by Alibaba, the company has been conducting regular road tests of self-driving vehicles and has the capability to perform open road trials. It’s looking to develop Level 4 autonomous technology, meaning that under certain conditions, the car can operate on its own without human involvement. Alibaba has previously formed partnerships with SAIC Motor and Dongfeng Peugeot Citroen to equip cars with its AliOS operating system.
