The Chinese government has upped the ante when it comes to sat nav wars with notably, the US, as China has recently mandated the use of its new satellite navigation system Beidou (BDS) in several classes of vehicle throughout nine provinces. According to the Ministry of Transport, the provinces that would have to comply to the new decree include Jiangsu, Anhui, Hebei, Shaanxi, Shandong, Hunan and Guizhou, in addition to the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region and Tianjin Municipality.
This is not a decree that was issued on one’s whim and fancy, as there was a trial last year that involved more than 100,000 vehicles of Beidou throughout the mentioned nine regions. It is made compulsory for the entire fleet of passenger buses and vehicles that see action in transporting “dangerous articles” to carry the BDS system when time’s up to renew their on-board sat nav, and heavy-duty trucks and trailers are not exempt either since they need to be retrofitted with a similar system. It is hoped that 80% of these vehicle classes will be fitted with BDS before March this year. There is no escape from Big Brother, no way!