Tencent, Didi approved to have autonomous car road tests in Beijing

Shanghai (Gasgoo)- Tencent Dadi Tongtu Technology Co., Ltd and Suzhou Didi Travel Technology Co.,Ltd, the subsidiaries of Chinese Internet giant Tencent and ride-hailing giant Didi Chuxing, have reportedly been qualified by Beijing authority to test autonomous vehicles on roads, according to the Beijing Innovation Center for Mobility Intelligent (BICMI).

The list on the BICMI's website shows that there are a total of 7 companies that have obtained the official licenses for autonomous vehicle road tests so far. Three of seven firms are car makers, namely, NIO, BAIC BJEV and Daimler Greater China Ltd. Apart from the two newly-added companies, the other two are tech companies, Beijing Baidu Netcom Science Technology Co., Ltd and Beijing Pony.Ai Science and Technology Co., Ltd.

The list also reveals that the Baidu's license plate has been increased to 25 pieces from 5 pieces in March. Besides, Beijing has by far opened 44 public roads in total for companies to test autonomous cars.

Under Beijing's regulation on autonomous vehicle test, all vehicles that apply for the license must undergo over 5,000 kilometers of closed course training in addition to capability evaluations, which include the ability to follow traffic rules and handle emergencies. Safety drivers are required to undergo no less than 50 hours of training in order to engage and take control of the vehicle in case of an emergency.

Moreover, the vehicles must pass evaluations by a group of transportation, automobile, computer science and legal experts before they are approved to run on public roads.