China has recently launched its first automotive testing hub in Kunming, the capital of southwest China's Yunnan Province, designed to replicate overseas high-altitude conditions, allowing domestic vehicles to undergo tests comparable to those in high-altitude regions abroad without leaving the country.
The facility, located at an elevation of nearly 2,000 meters, boasts a range of testing sections, including a high-altitude dynamic testing area, straight-line performance tracks, a "Mexico road" section, tracks used to measure pass-by noise during acceleration, and steep gradients, all of which are designed to simulate road environments in high-altitude countries.
Jiang Bigang, an engineer specializing in high-altitude vehicle testing at the China Automotive Technology and Research Center Co,.Ltd. (CATARC), drove a vehicle to demonstrate a 40-percent gradient slope.
"First, at high altitudes, engine power is naturally affected. Second, steep-slope conditions like this are quite common in overseas markets. These tests are designed to assess vehicles' climbing performance, to see whether they can handle the more demanding requirements of climbing steep inclines under plateau conditions, where engine power is constrained," he said, explaining the purpose of setting up such test scenarios.
The engineer also demonstrated a section known as the "Mexico road," which simulates complex road conditions in the country, including raised and concave speed bumps.
"What we are experiencing now is one of the most challenging roads at this facility. This is a 25-centimeter-wide convex speed bump with a semi-cylindrical shape. In Mexico, where driving speeds tend to be relatively high, such elevated speed bumps are built in some places to force vehicles to slow down. These road configurations are intended to test the strength of the vehicle body structure and its overall adaptability," Jiang said.
China launches its first high-altitude auto testing hub to simulate overseas road conditions
