China's Didi Gets Approval to Test Autonomous Cars in California

By Austen Hufford 

China's ride-sharing giant Didi Chuxing Technology Co. has been approved to launch live trials of autonomous vehicles on roads in California, becoming the latest company to explore advanced driving technology in the U.S. as safety concerns remain in the spotlight.

Didi joins a list of established and young technology and automotive companies that are allowed to test drive autonomous vehicles on California roads with a safety driver present. The California Department of Motor Vehicles said there are 53 companies with permits, including ride-hailing company Lyft Inc., Intel Corp., Alphabet Inc.'s Waymo and Chinese internet-search company Baidu Inc.

Didi opened its main U.S. research facility in Mountain View, Calif., last year to focus on developing artificial intelligence, including for autonomous driving. The approval from the California state regulator is the company's first license for testing on public roads in the U.S.

"We have been testing our vehicles in closed internal environment for a while," Didi Senior Communications Director Liang Sun said in an email. The company is still finalizing its plans to begin U.S. road trials but said it would be done in a "prudent and safety-first" manner.

Uber Technologies Inc. let its own permit lapse in California at the end of March after one of its self-driving vehicles struck and killed a pedestrian crossing a street in Arizona.

In 2016, Didi acquired Uber's China operations after a costly battle for dominance in the Chinese market. The Wall Street Journal reported last month that Didi is holding discussions about potentially having a multibillion-dollar initial public offering as early as this year.

The move also comes as Didi is facing scrutiny of its ride-hailing operations in China. On Friday, the company said it would suspend one of its driving services in China for a week amid widening public outrage over the death of a passenger. A 21-year-old woman who booked a ride through Didi was allegedly killed by her driver in a central Chinese city, according to police.

Write to Austen Hufford at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 14, 2018 10:09 ET (14:09 GMT)

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