Volkswagen Group given green light to test autonomous cars in China’s Hefei

Shanghai (Gasgoo)- Licenses to allow road tests for autonomous cars were granted to German automobile giant Volkswagen Group by the government of China's eastern city Hefei on August 26.

After obtaining the license, the automaker will start testing autonomous vehicles in the capital of Anhui Province, its first move in the world’s largest auto market. At the same time, Volkswagen also became the first global automobile manufacture that initiated the construction of autonomous driving service ecosystem in China. 

Volkswagen said it will begin the autonomous driving tests in Hefei's Haiheng Community with the Audi's e-tron all-electric SUVs from September. The vehicles will be tested in a 16-sq.km. area that contains the open roads spanning 80 kilometers in total and embraces abundant functional spots like schools, shops, supermarkets, hospitals, residential quarters and industrial parks.

The passenger-carrying tests will be open to the public from next year. The fleet will bear the name of ezia, a smart mobility service brand Volkswagen specifically launched for China's users.

In May September, Volkswagen (China) Investment Co., Ltd. and Mobility Asia (Volkswagen China's wholly-owned subsidiary) signed a framework agreement with Hefei municipal government and JAC Motors for the strategic cooperation on smart city project.

Under the partnership, Mobility Asia and JAC will pool resources and collaborate to provide autonomous mobility services, including robotaxis and autonomous fleet management, VW said.

The collaboration, intending to assist Hefei with its transformation into a smart city, will create chances for Volkswagen to test new technologies, business models and products in a smart connected urban environment, the German automaker added then （photo source: Volkswagen Group).