Singapore is quickly embracing the idea of self-driving cars on its roads. In October, the city-state’s Land Transport Authority (LTA) approved super apps Grab and Chinese robot taxi company WeRide in the Punggol region in the north of the country.
ComfortDelGro (CDG), one of the region’s leading transport operators, is the next company to receive approval Testing self-driving vehicles on city roads.
The trials will begin with five five-seat autonomous space shuttles. CDG plans to launch ride-hailing services to the public next year through a driverless car option on its ride-hailing app ComfortDelGro Zig.
CDG’s first batch of AVs was successfully completed Milestone 1 TrialThe company said in a press statement on December 11 that this is a critical approval stage for Singapore’s autonomous vehicles to move from more controlled environments to public roads.
CDG Group CEO Cheng Siak Kian said: “This achievement meets the stringent standards for autonomous vehicle systems and enables us to responsibly introduce intelligent transportation systems in Singapore.”
Public self-driving test runs allow vehicles to collect and analyze real-world data to localize their artificial intelligence driving models. This includes details of road infrastructure, traffic flows, the behavior of local road users and pedestrians, and local weather conditions.
Singapore’s investment in self-driving cars
ComfortDelGro is best known for operating parts of Singapore’s subway system as well as buses and taxis. The company is also expanding internationally, with joint ventures in Australia, Europe and mainland China.
But perhaps its most ambitious venture is a new partnership with a robotaxi company.
In March this year, CDG launched a sandbox program in Guangzhou with Chinese robot taxi provider Pony.ai to begin developing the ability to operate an AV fleet. Then, last month, the company Signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Alibaba-backed Hello Robotaxicooperate to deploy commercial robot taxis on a large scale in China and other overseas markets.
At the time, CDG Group CEO Cheng called the partnership with Hello Robotaxi “an important step in developing our autonomous vehicle capabilities and securing our long-term position in the future of point-to-point mobility.”
He added: “By creating an integrated smart shared mobility network that combines our taxi business with robo-taxi services, we are building a robust, replicable and future-proof hybrid operating model that can be scaled across our global network.”
Grab, which operates Southeast Asia’s largest ride-hailing platform, is also investing in self-driving cars. The company expects to welcome the first passengers to its AV fleet (currently 10 five-seat vehicles and one self-driving bus) by early 2026. Grab has also made strategic investments in: Wen Yuanxing US-based May Mobility is another robotaxi company.
The Singaporean government is also eager to introduce self-driving cars on its streets. July, nationwide A 17-member committee was established Promote the rollout of autonomous vehicles.
The committee includes representatives from industry, academia, unions and government and is chaired by Singapore’s acting Transport Minister Jeffrey Siow, who calls self-driving cars “Game Changer” Singapore’s transportation system.
Singapore’s state investment company Temasek Holdings also acquired about In the third quarter of this year, WeRide Holdings increased its holdings by 1.4 million shares, and Pony.com increased its holdings by 14,500 shares.. The total value of the shares was $13.7 million, according to its 13F filing in November. Temasek has also invested in other self-driving companies, including Swedish transportation company Einride and Israeli artificial intelligence mobile company Autobrains.
Xiao said in an interview with the media in June Singaporeans can expect to see many self-driving cars on the road in the next five yearsbut added that their rollout would be gradual. The country plans to allow operators to launch self-driving services on fixed routes in residential areas and then provide rides to places of interest.
“I expect autonomous vehicles will be deployed quite widely in the next five years and they will be a very useful addition to… the public transport network,” Siow told Singaporean broadcaster CNA, adding that the vehicles would help ease manpower constraints in the country’s transport sector.