Shenzhen Announces 2028 Full-City Autonomous Driving: L4 Vehicle Ratio to Reach 85%, Traditional Taxis Exit

Overview

Shenzhen Transportation Bureau today officially released "Shenzhen City Autonomous Driving Full-Area Opening Roadmap," proposing the goal of achieving city-wide L4 autonomous driving commercial operation by 2028.

By then, Shenzhen will become the world's first true "autonomous driving city."

Timeline

• End of 2027: Shenzhen main urban area + Qianhai Cooperation Zone full-area opening
• June 2028: Baoan, Longgang and other districts follow, city-wide coverage
• End of 2028: L4 vehicles account for 85% of city's motor vehicles

How Changes Will Happen

Drivers Disappear

Shenzhen currently has about 42,000 cruising taxi drivers. As autonomous driving replaces them, this group faces transition.

The government announced 5 billion RMB investment for driver retraining, directing toward new positions like autonomous driving supervision and vehicle maintenance. Expected to retain about 5,000 experienced drivers, mainly operating in remote areas.

Travel Cost Drops Sharply

Autonomous taxi operating cost is one-third of human-driven. Expected Shenzhen ride-hailing average price will drop from current 8 RMB/km to 2.5 RMB/km.

This impacts public transit. Shenzhen Metro has initiated fare reduction plans.

Traffic Accident Changes

Shenzhen Transportation Bureau data shows that after 1.5 years of autonomous taxi operation, accident rate is only 7% of human-driven, with zero major casualty accidents.

Controversy

Opponents point out: 40,000 driver layoffs will bring huge social stability pressure. This is a typical case of "efficiency over people's livelihood."

Supporters argue: "Not actively embracing change means losing competitiveness. The pain of unemployed drivers is real, but this is an unavoidable cost of industrial upgrading."

Shenzhen's experiment will provide answers for the entire nation.