Didi Research North America's Moutain View Lab. Photo: Didi Chuxing

Didi Research North America's Moutain View Lab. Photo: Didi Chuxing

China-based ride-hailing firm Didi Chuxing’s U.S. division, Didi Research North America, is the latest entity to receive a permit from the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to test autonomous vehicles in the state.

Didi opened its U.S. research lab in Mountain View in March 2017, reports Tech Crunch.

In February, the DMV released its new rules for testing autonomous vehicles in the state. The new rules focused on testing done without a driver. Now, vehicle manufacturers must obtain a driverless testing or deployment permit if they wish to test vehicles without a driver or allow the general population to use their self-driving technology.

Other requirements include certifying that the autonomous test vehicle is capable of operating without the presence of a driver and meet the autonomous technology description of the Society of Automotive Engineers Level 4 or 5 vehicles; ensuring vehicle have a connected communication link to a remote operator and law enforcement; and, informing the DMV of all intended operational design domains.

Photo: Jaguar MENA/Flickr

Photo: Jaguar MENA/Flickr

The DMV updated its list of 53 companies that have received permits to test self-driving technology in California May 10.

The full list of companies that have been granted permits includes: Volkswagen Group of America, Mercedes Benz, Waymo, Delphi Automotive, Tesla Motors, Bosch, Nissan, GM Cruise, BMW, Honda, Ford Zoox, Inc., Drive.ai, Faraday & Future Inc., Baidu USA, Valeo North America, Inc., NIO USA, Inc., Telenav, Inc., NVIDIA Corporation, AutoX Technologies Inc., Subaru, Udacity, Navya, Renovo.auto, PlusAi, Nuro, CarOne, Apple, Bauer’s Intelligent Transportation, Pony.AI, TuSimple, Jingchi Corp, SAIC Innovation Center, Almotive Inc., Aurora Innovation, Nullmax, Samsung Electronics, Continental Automotive Systems Inc., Voyage, CYNGN, Roadstar.Ai, Changan Automobile, Lyft, Phantom AI, Qualcomm Technologies, aiPod, SF Motors Inc., Toyota Research Institute, Apex.Al, Intel Corp., Ambarella Corporation, and Gatik AI.

Not on the list of permitted companies? Uber. The technology company decided to suspend its autonomous vehicle testing following the death of a pedestrian in Arizona earlier this year.

Uber’s California permit expired March 31.

Related Content: Volkswagen, Didi Chuxing in Talks to Co-Create Autonomous Vehicles

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Michaela Kwoka-Coleman

Michaela Kwoka-Coleman

Assistant Editor

Michaela Kwoka-Coleman is an assistant editor for Auto Rental News and Business Fleet magazine.

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