智行者获得北京 T3 级自动驾驶路测牌照 – TechNode Chinese
What happened: Chinese autonomous vehicle startup Idriverplus has been given the green light to test self-driving cars in Beijing. According to a government announcement, seven Chinese tech company were granted T3 licenses, including Baidu, Tencent, and Didi. The permit allows them to conduct tests on 44 designated roads spanning around 120 kilometers within the city. The Beijing government has designated five levels for the pilot licenses, ranging from T1 to T5, and all the permits have a validity period of three months.
Why it’s important: The Beijing government started granting temporary self-driving permits to domestic and multinational mobility companies in March 2018. Baidu became the first company in China to be approved. Shenzhen’s government then issued Tencent a license two months later. So far, city governments have issued more than 100 licenses in 14 cities around the country, including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, and Chongqing. The Chinese government is trying to catch up to the US regarding public road testing, as it aims to establish its supremacy in emerging fields including autonomous driving.