<div id="readability-page-1">WeRide boss Tony Han Xu believes the first fully autonomous cars may arrive on streets by 2035, as global carmakers and tech firms accelerate the application of self-driving technologies despite roadblocks. The latest setback came when Chinese regulators stepped in after an incident in Wuhan on March 31. Authorities scaled back the issuance of new autonomous driving licences after a system failure on March 31 involving Baidu’s Apollo Go fleet, which left passengers stranded and disrupted traffic for hours. A vehicle capable of full automation is known as Level 5 (L5), according to a set of standards published by SAE International in 2014. Referring to L5 as “Super Drive”, Han, co-founder, chairman and CEO of WeRide, said its reality was not far off. “I think within 10 years, we will achieve ‘Super Drive’,” Han said in an interview with the South China Morning Post. “That means a car can drive anywhere better than a human being.” There are six automation levels, ranging from L0 where the car is completely controlled by a driver, to L5 where a vehicle can operate anytime, anywhere and under any weather without human intervention.  Established in 2017, Guangzhou-based WeRide was one of the first start-ups aiming to achieve L4 driving, where drivers can be “minds off” in a highly automated car. The firm has operated driverless cars on public roads for more than two years and as of late March, it had a global fleet of 1,125 L4-level robotaxis. Besides WeRide, big players including Waymo and Baidu are expanding their robotaxi fleets, while carmakers such as Tesla in the US and Geely Automobile and Xpeng in China are developing their own robotaxi models. The global commercial robotaxi fleet was estimated to be roughly 7,000 vehicles in 2025 and was expected to surge to about 6 million by 2035, with the market size reaching US$415 billion in the period, according to an April 30 report by Goldman Sachs. However, some self-driving players cast doubt on the necessity of chasing L5. Hou Cong, co-founder and president of QCraft, a Beijing-based start-up established by former Waymo and Google engineers in 2019, thinks “L5 is more of an ideal”. “I think it will eventually become a reality, but there’s no point in discussing it at the moment,” Hou said in a separate interview with the SCMP. In 2021, Su Jing, then president of intelligent driving at Huawei Technologies, noted that L5 would serve as a “beacon”, adding that he probably would not live to see it. US billionaire Elon Musk, who controls electric vehicle giant Tesla, said in 2023 that its cars might be capable of L4 or L5 later that year. But so far, the American electric vehicle maker has made no new announcements. Hou’s views stem from his experience in monetising self-driving technology, as he believes L4 cars are easier to define and can be used in more scenarios than L3 and L5. While global giants focus on robotaxis for passengers, QCraft is targeting autonomous robovans for logistics. Hou said an L4 robovan could be mass-produced within one to two years, reaching a scale of “tens of thousands”.  Before China’s reported suspension, the planned introduction of L5 had been delayed by another five years, to 2040, in the third edition of a road map published by the Society of Automotive Engineers of China in 2025. In October, WeRide’s Han said the realisation of L5 would be a “ChatGPT moment” for the self-driving industry. Though Chinese start-ups can offer mature but low-cost solutions, they still need to catch up with US leaders like Tesla and Waymo in advanced technologies, according to Hou of QCraft. “There are top minds and heavy investments injected into the frontier projects in Silicon Valley,” said Hou. “But most L4 companies in China are just start-ups, which won’t be able to invest that much money.” </div>

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<p>WeRide CEO Tony Han Xu predicts that fully autonomous cars could be on the streets by 2035, despite recent setbacks from Chinese regulators. He refers to Level 5 automation as 'Super Drive' and believes it will be achieved within 10 years. The global commercial robotaxi fleet is expected to grow significantly, reaching about 6 million vehicles by 2035, with a market size of $415 billion. However, some experts question the feasibility of L5, suggesting that Level 4 may be more practical for current applications.</p>

WeRide CEO sees ‘ChatGPT moment’ in driverless cars within 10 years