After Wuxi, Audi gains license to test L4 autonomous car in Beijing

Shanghai (Gasgoo)- Hot on the heels of Wuxi, Jiangsu Province, Audi China has got the license to test L4 autonomous vehicles on roads in Beijing, China's capital, the automaker announced recently.

The company is allowed to test autonomous vehicles on several road sections in Beijing Economic Technological Development Area, Shunyi District and Fangshan District to further improve its self-driving technologies via various testing scenarios.

Audi China said it will set up a R&D and testing center in Wuxi in the first quarter next year to support the on-spot tests of autonomous driving and IoV (Internet of Vehicles) technologies. “As an important part of Audi 2025 Strategy, Audi China will keep strengthening the investment in autonomous driving and intelligent connectivity areas to provide Chinese consumers with intelligent driving technologies based on China’s road conditions,” said President of Audi China Thomas Owsianski.

As early as 2017, the German automaker joined hands with Huawei, a China's leading provider of ICT infrastructure and smart devices, to test LTE-V ( the long-term evolution-vehicle) program on public roads. On July 10, 2018, Audi announced that it signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Huawei to develop in-depth cooperation in ICV area. The agreement constituted part of a broad-based partnership between companies in China and Germany initiated by Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and German Chancellor Angela Merkel. 

On October 11 at HUAWEI CONNECT 2018, Huawei and Audi announced their future cooperative plan to conduct joint innovation in L4 autonomous driving area and showcased the all-new Audi Q7 as the embodiment of both parties' state-of-the-art technologies.