BYD has obtained conditional testing license for level 3 autonomous driving on high-speed roads

BEIJING (Reuters) – Chinese electric vehicle giant BYD (SZ:) said on Wednesday it has obtained a conditional testing license for level 3 (L3) autonomous driving on high-speed roads.

BYD was granted the first such license in China in July, the company said in a statement on its official Weibo (NASDAQ:) account.

Earlier in December, BMW (ETR:) Group said it had received a test license for L3 self-driving on high-speed roads in Shanghai, while Mercedes Benz (ETR:) said it would carry out L3 tests on designated highways in Beijing.

IM Motors, the EV brand of state-owned Chinese automaker SAIC Motor, has said it is also applying to China’s industry ministry for product entry of L3 cars.