China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) has granted conditional permits to two Chinese automakers to carry out level 3 autonomous driving testing.
Operations To Kick Off In Beijing And Chongqing
The MIIT released a statement on Monday, outlining that the two companies, state-owned Changan Automobile‘s pure electric sedan with the model number SC7000AAARBEV and BAIC‘s Arcfox brand’s pure electric sedan with the model number BJ7001A61NBEV, will be granted permission to conduct the tests on designated public roads.
Changan would conduct the tests on Chongqing’s highways and expressways in traffic, using only a single lane. The statement stipulates that the speed of the car should not exceed 50 km/h (31 miles per hour).
On the other hand, Arcfox’s testing would be restricted to some parts of Beijing, with speeds not exceeding 80 km/h (approximately 50 miles per hour). “The two automotive companies have completed and passed product testing and safety assessments as required,” the statement said.
WeRide, Apollo Go Drive Chinese Autonomous Tech
The news comes as companies like WeRide Inc. (NASDAQ:WRD) and Baidu Inc.-backed (NASDAQ:BIDU) robotaxi company Apollo Go have both reported progress in autonomous driving pursuits.
Apollo Go recently crossed the 250,000 weekly Robotaxi rides milestone, reporting over 140 million driverless miles driven by the company’s autonomous tech.
Meanwhile, WeRide partnered with Uber Technologies Inc. (NYSE:UBER) to offer Robotaxi rides in Dubai’s Umm Suqeim and Jumeirah, two major tourist districts within the Emirate. The company had previously launched Robotaxis in Abu Dhabi last month and in Switzerland as well, securing the country’s first Robotaxi permit.
Tesla Tests Driverless Robotaxis, Waymo Leads The Sector
Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) also began testing its driverless Robotaxis in Austin, which could hand it a major boost to align with CEO Elon Musk‘s end-of-the-year timeline for Unsupervised Robotaxis in the city.
Tesla’s Robotaxi rival Alphabet Inc.‘s (NASDAQ:GOOGL) (NASDAQ:GOOG) Waymo continues to lead in the Robotaxi sector, recently reaching 14 million paid autonomous cab rides in 2025.
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Image created using artificial intelligence via Midjourney.
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