Baidu gets green light to start testing self-driving cars in US
Internet giant Baidu will soon begin testing its self-driving cars in the US after California’s automobile authority granted its first such permit to a Chinese company.
Baidu said on Thursday that it has received an Autonomous Vehicle Testing Permit from the California Department of Motor Vehicles, becoming the 15th company in the world and the first Chinese company to receive such approval.
The permit has already been granted to internet giant Google and Tesla, a pioneer in self-driving technology and electric cars. Global automakers including Volkswagen and Mercedes Benz have also received the permit.
“We will start testing our autonomous driving technologies on public roads very soon in California,” said Baidu’s senior vice president Wang Jin, who heads the company’s autonomous driving unit.
“Being able to do road tests will greatly accelerate our progress [in developing autonomous driving technologies],” he said. Baidu has indicated it will launch its driverless cars in 2018.
The company completed its first fully automated drive in mixed road conditions in China last December. Earlier this year, Baidu formed an autonomous driving team in the US, saying it had recruited top researchers and engineers to join the group in Silicon Valley. Baidu plans to expand the team to over 100 by the end of the year.
