GAC Aion, in partnership with DiDi Autonomous Driving, has revealed its L4 autonomous vehicle at the 2025 Shanghai Auto Show. It features an impressive array of 10 LiDAR sensors and advanced safety systems.
Based on the GAC Aion Y “Tyrannosaurus” model, the vehicle represents a significant advancement in autonomous driving technology. It is equipped with 33 sensors, exceeding the industry average of 20 sensors by 65%. Among these sensors are 10 LiDAR units, with four long-range LiDARs capable of detecting objects up to 200 meters away and six blind-spot LiDARs providing 360-degree coverage with detection as close as 10 centimetres.
The central processing unit’s computing power reaches an impressive 2000 TOPS (Trillion Operations Per Second), equivalent to the combined computing power of more than 60 high-end smartphones or 10 high-end PC graphics cards. This substantial processing capability is designed to enhance the safety, experience, and efficiency of autonomous driving.
The car incorporates redundant backup systems for eight critical components, including sensors, brakes, and power systems. This ensures that the vehicle can continue to operate safely if one system fails. The overall system safety target is “1FIT,” meaning no more than one failure per billion hours of operation—1,000 times safer than aviation standards.
The vehicle also features three levels of redundancy: algorithm redundancy, software redundancy, and hardware redundancy. The comprehensive safety design is based on GAC Aion’s pure electric platform and a globally compatible safety redundancy platform developed explicitly for L4 autonomous driving, providing multiple redundancies for braking, steering, communication, and power systems.
Through collaboration with GAC, the development of this purpose-built L4 production vehicle has achieved significant cost reductions. According to DiDi Autonomous Driving, the new car offers 88% more usable trunk space, a 74% reduction in cost, and a 7-fold improvement in assembly efficiency compared to retrofitted autonomous vehicles.
The vehicle is scheduled for production and delivery by the end of 2025, with demonstration operations planned to begin gradually in some regions of Guangzhou and Beijing in 2026. By 2027, the companies also plan to launch an L4 vehicle targeted at individual consumers.
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