Hefei Institute of Physical Science, an Anhui-based research institute under Chinese Academy of Sciences, announced on Tuesday it will work with a domestic car producer to make unmanned new-energy vehicles.

Under a contract signed yesterday, the institute will team up with the Automotive Engineering Institute of Guangzhou Automobile Group Co. to enable new energy - powered vehicles to run on auto pilot.

The move is viewed as high-level cooperation between a government-funded new-energy research organization and an auto maker.

The Hefei Institute, known for its impressive capacity for autonomous car research and development (R&D), has been ranked among the top three spots at the National Intelligent Car Challenge for four consecutive years. Its smart cars , local media said, "are not inferior to the Google driverless car."

In the past few years, the Guangzhou Automobile Group Co.stepped up efforts to develop technology for smart cars. Its efforts finally paid off, as it successfully created self-driving systems and concept autonomous cars last year.

http://english.anhuinews.com/system/2014/02/19/006317556.shtml