Shanghai (ZXZC)- Today, at 2018 Global Autonomous Driving Forum held by ZXZC, Simon Yang, president of Aptiv Asia Pacific, revealed Aptiv’s layout in autonomous driving area in China.

In December last year, Delphi Automotive, Aptiv's predecessor, had spun off its powertrain division. Delphi Technologies was the spin-off and Aptiv, the remains of the former Delphi Automotive, focuses on self-driving and connected vehicle development.

According to Simon Yang, at present, Aptiv owns three R&D centers in China after the split of Delphi Automotive. In addition, the company plans to enlarge its R&D team in China in the next one to two years. 

Currently, Aptiv has 60 autonomous vehicles which are being tested worldwide and the company is about to increase this number to 188 units by the end of this year. The speaker stated that having autonomous vehicle test in China is quite challenging. They had applied a roadshow for a vehicle with L4 autonomous driving function at a Shanghai auto show. However, due to the limitation of China’s policy, this plan wasn’t realized. Yang said that not only the development of autonomous driving platform is necessary, but relevant laws and regulations need be evolved synchronously. If the technical development is devoid of support from laws and regulation, the promotion of autonomous vehicles in China may encounter lots of obstacles.

Besides, a powerful strategic partner is important for Aptiv's layout in China. Yang revealed that the company plans to establish a strategic partnership with Auto Navi, a Chinese web mapping, navigation and location-based services provider. In addition, it intends to upgrade autonomous driving systems to meet various demands in different countries and under diversified road conditions.