TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan is joining a German-based service provider in promoting the country’s driverless car technologies certification to surf the wave of self-driving opportunities post-coronavirus.

Taiwan CAR (Connected, Autonomous, Road-test) Lab of the National Applied Research Laboratories (NARLabs) has teamed up with TUV Rheinland Taiwan to ensure the country’s autonomous vehicles meet international standards. The move will further drive innovation for Taiwan’s automobile industry, at a time when many countries have resorted to driverless cars for food and medical supply deliveries to reduce transmission risks during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The collaboration involves CAR Lab providing a closed field test facility in Tainan for companies that need to test their vehicles in a mixed traffic setting. Meanwhile, TUV Rheinland helps with design safety standards and certification requirements, in keeping with global trends.

The introduction of international standards for autonomous vehicles will provide a boost to Taiwan’s automobile components, automotive electronics and ICT sectors for securing a footing in the global arena, said Wu Kuang-chong (吳光鐘), president of NARLabs.

The Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOFA) launched the “Autonomous Vehicles Technologies Innovation Program” in October 2019. As of June this year, six projects proposed by four firms have received the green light to run tests on roads and waterways, including Kingwaytek (勤崴), Kaohsiung City Shipping Co. (高雄輪船), Turing (台灣智駕), and Lilee Systems (理立系統), reported TechNews.

Autonomous vehicle test facility in Tainan (NARLabs via CNA photo)