Taiwan Government-backed Automobile Consortium Launches 18 Smart Technologies

An automobile consortium composed of Taiwan governmental institutes, research organizations, and private manufacturers named Taiwan Automobility Research Consortium (TARC) recently rolled out 18 smart technologies driving autonomous and electric vehicles at the 2025 E-Mobility Taiwan Exhibition.

These technologies include an artificial intelligence that brings about the world’s first Level 3 self-driving electric bus proven in accordance with the UN R157 standard. Another striking technology is a Smart Charging Management and Dispatch System from the government-funded Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI). Both technologies have won the 2025 Edison Awards, giving Taiwan an advantageous position to ascend to the international stage of automobile electronics and lure orders from overseas for these innovative technologies.

In cooperation with island-wide governmental agencies, academic institutes, and private manufacturers, Department of Industrial Technology (DOIT) of the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) set up TARC in 2005 to beef up Taiwan’s self-sufficient capability in developing automobile technologies.

The Level 3 self-driving technology, exhibited by the government-financed Automotive Research & Testing Center (ARTC), is integrated with a cybersecurity system thanks to the cooperation among Elan, oToBrite, ASUS, DFI, Arcadyan, Chimei Automotive, and Rotatech. Tests based on UN R157 rule have proven the autonomous vehicles powered by the combination are able to effectively pare down the chance of traffic accidents by a whopping 90% due to the image-identifying and radar-sensing technologies, which together enable the vehicles to navigate, change road lanes, and avoid obstacles autonomously.

The Level 3 technology incorporates AI-enabled smart driving, AI cockpit monitoring, and AI cybersecurity. The cockpit monitoring technology will automatically pull over the Level 3 vehicles when it determines the driver cannot control the cars from the face and body gestures that it has detected. Meanwhile, the vehicle-to-everything cybersecurity system and over-the-air (OTA) software updating ensure system stability.

ARTC Chairman Jerry Wang points out that the world’s first Level 3 self-driving bus using the ARTC technology is completely developed and built in Taiwan. He is optimistic about Taiwan’s electric bus market with an estimated size of 8,000 vehicles, which he thinks will help the island set up integrated production lines for the buses for entry into the international market.

Also, China Motor Corporation (CMC) displayed Taiwan's first commercialized 3.5-ton intelligent electric commercial vehicle, coded ET35, at the show. This vehicle is entirely designed by Taiwanese manufacturers and 90% assembled with locally made components, including chassis, power system and battery packs. Key technologies and components for this car are co-developed by ARTC, ITRI and TARC, packed with Taiwan-developed Advanced Driver Assistance System Level2 proactive security system, vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication, and cloud-based data platform. Volume production is scheduled for the third quarter this year.