Tesla's Autopilot is Rated as the Best Advanced Driver Assistance System in China

author: Manish Kharinta   

Tesla is not only the world's most valuable carmaker, it's pioneer in semi-autonomous driving technology with its Autopilot feature. 

Now a recent survey conducted by the automotive outlet 42HOW in China has declared Tesla's Autopilot feature as the best automated driving system on the market in China with a total score of 283 out of a 335. 

China also happens to be the world's largest electric vehicle market, which makes the ranking a substantial victory for Tesla as it expands its footprint in the country. 

The Chinese motoring group tested a total of 11 offerings, including Tesla's Model 3 sedan with Autopilot. The Model 3 managed to set a substantial lead over the first runner-up the BMW X5, which received 208 points respectively. Seventh place was the Cadillac CT6 with a score of 129.5.

The 42HOW team used a Model 3 equipped with Tesla's older version (ver. 2020.24.6.4) of Autopilot, which makes the win a bit more impressive, as Tesla has since introduced another firmware update for its semi-autonomous driving software. 

The automotive group also confirmed that the test car was retrofitted with Tesla's Hardware 3.0 upgrade, which supports the company's Full Self-Driving software. 

The cars were assessed on eight parameters which included rating each vehicles' automated driving performance in heavy traffic, rain, on curved roads and at night. The 42HOW teams also evaluated automated parking features of the test vehicles.

The automated parking feature of the BMW X5 and Xpeng Motors P7 Smart Sedan performed better than the Model 3, while the Li Auto One SUV managed to perform better in congested road conditions.

Unlike Thatcham Research and the The European New Car Assessment Program in Europe, 42HOW's team did not penalize Tesla for using the term "Autopilot", which hints that the vehicle is fully "self-driving" when it actually requires human oversight.

It won't be surprising if Tesla introduces a radical update to its self-driving feature, as the company is constantly pushing out over-the-air updates to its vehicles.

In the U.S., Tesla's Autopilot lost its lead as the most advanced automated driving system to General Motors' Super Cruise, which is offered on Cadillac models. Cadillac's Super Cruise system managed to outperform Tesla's Autopilot in most areas when tested by Consumer Reports in October.

Consumer Reports evaluated 17 automated and advanced driver assist systems (ADAS) that are currently offered in the U.S, and Cadillac's Super Cruise suite managed to deliver the most consistent performance out of all the offerings. Tesla finished in second place out of the 17 systems tested.

Now that the Tesla vehicles are being equipped with more capable autonomous driving tech, it will be interesting to see if the Tesla Model 3 can hold onto its lead in the segment.

Manish Kharinta

Manish Kharinta is a automotive writer based in the Los Angeles area. He has worked for automotive industry websites TheSmokingClutch.com, CarDekho.com and CarBikeindia.com. His experience ranges from covering auto shows, to car reviews and breaking automotive news. Manish aims to bring forth his unique perspective on automotive design and technological innovations in the automotive industry.