Baidu gets permit to test autonomous cars in Beijing

Chinese search giant Baidu has received approval to test autonomous cars in Beijing, according to a Reuters report. The approval comes just days after a fatal crash involving an Uber self-driving car in Arizona, which caused many companies to suspend their services in the area.

We are honored to be a part of a major milestone in #AutonomousDriving history today in receiving the first-ever permits for Autonomous Driving Road Testing in #Beijing! To mark the occasion, the 5 newly-licensed @ApolloPlatform cars hit the road for a #testdrive! #mobility pic.twitter.com/Zx5o2IVSpt

— Baidu Inc. (@Baidu_Inc) March 22, 2018

Baidu received a permit to test its vehicles on 33 roads spanning around 65 miles (105 kilometres) in the city's less populated suburbs. It is the first company to receive license to conduct open road tests in Beijing, and five cars ventured onto public roads in the Daxing district.

"With supportive policies, we believe that Beijing will become a rising hub for the autonomous driving industry," Baidu Vice-President Zhao Cheng said. He added, "We hope to work with more partners to pave the way for the full development of autonomous driving." Baidu will use its newfound testing opportunities to further develop its Apollo self-driving car computing platform.