July 31, the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) held a groundbreaking ceremony at the Automotive Research & Testing Center (ARTC) in Changhua, Taiwan, where an investment of NT$1 billion has been allocated to establish an international-grade testing site for smart vehicles and automotive electrical systems. This site will house Taiwan's first all-weather high-speed autonomous driving testing facility, allowing large buses to undergo real-world autonomous driving tests at speeds up to 110 kilometers per hour in diverse scenarios including heavy rain, dense fog, tunnels, and elevated bridges. Upon the establishment of verification and testing capabilities for smart cockpits and electric vehicle powertrains, the facility is anticipated to conduct over 1000 tests, generating a production value of more than NT$10 billion. With a projected completion date of 2025, the site will substantially expedite the advancement of autonomous driving technology in Taiwan.

Mr. Chiou Chyou-Huey, Director General of the MOEA's Department of Industrial Technology, mentioned that the global automotive industry is moving towards smartization. Leveraging its inherent advantages, the Taiwanese automotive electronics industry has become an important ally for global automakers in smart upgrades. To bolster the industry's competitiveness on the international stage, the Executive Yuan brought together representatives from industry, government, and academia to collectively deliberate on strategies for the development of electric and autonomous vehicles. It was assessed that Taiwan lacked high-speed autonomous vehicle testing facilities and automotive electrical system verification equipment. Therefore, the MOEA has utilized technology project subsidies and drawn from the experience of advanced countries such as Germany and Japan to construct a real-world vehicle testing facility and deploy advanced equipment that adheres to the most stringent international standards.

Jerry Wang, Chairman of ARTC, explained that with the support of the MOEA's Department of Industrial Technology through this technology project, the Center has successfully built a smart cockpit and deployed verification equipment for key vehicle electronic systems such as electric vehicle powertrains. In addition to the high-speed autonomous vehicle testing facility and automotive electrical system verification equipment in the current phase, ARTC will further enhance the capabilities of this site towards vehicle connectivity and other smart functionalities in line with the future needs of Taiwan's autonomous vehicle and automotive electrical system vendors.

The Taiwanese component industry has played a vital part in the global automotive supply chain, demonstrating exceptional strengths in system integration and smart technologies. However, with the trend of automotive electrical products moving towards integrated systems, there are gaps in testing and verification capabilities for large capacity equipment, high voltage, high power, thermal shock and other complex environments. In recent years, the MOEA's technology projects have successively established the capabilities to test large automotive electrical products such as smart cabins accommodating 55-inch displays, and the ability to verify and test all-in-one powertrains under complex conditions. This has significantly shortened development cycles and rapidly enhanced Taiwan's position in the international supply chain.