---
title: "Daimler Authorized to Test ‘Highly-Automated Driving’ in Beijing"
description: "Daimler says it's the first automaker authorized to test prototype autonomous cars in Beijing."
date: "2018-07-06"
modified: "2018-07-06"
authors:
  - name: "Stephen Edelstein"
    job_title: "Weekend Editor"
    link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/stephen-edelstein"
url: "https://www.thedrive.com/tech/21980/daimler-authorized-to-test-highly-automated-driving-in-beijing"
categories:
  - "Car Tech"
  - "News"
  - "Self-Driving Tech"
tags:
  - "Autonomous Cars"
  - "Baidu"
  - "Beijing"
  - "China"
  - "Daimler"
  - "Mercedes-Benz"
  - "self-driving cars"
  - "Tech"
---

# Daimler Authorized to Test ‘Highly-Automated Driving’ in Beijing

![](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/images-by-url-td/content/2018/07/18c0540_007.jpg>)
*\<em\>www.thedrive.com\</em\>*

Daimler has received permission to test autonomous-driving technology on public roads in Beijing. The Mercedes-Benz parent claims to be the first foreign automaker to be granted an autonomous-driving test license in the Chinese capital.

To qualify for the licenses, Mercedes test mules had to undergo trials within a designated National Pilot Zone for Intelligent Mobility, where the government permits testing to be conducted. Human backup drivers also underwent "rigorous" training, a Daimler press release said.

Daimler is already working with Chinese tech giant Baidu on the latter's Apollo autonomous-driving computing platform. Baidu made Apollo open source, and has [enlisted dozens of companies](<https://www.thedrive.com/tech/12182/chinas-baidu-has-assembled-a-super-group-of-partners-for-its-self-driving-car-project>) to aid in its development. A variant of Apollo will be used in the Mercedes test vehicles deployed in Beijing.

Baidu only received a license to test prototype self-driving cars in Beijing [in March](<https://www.thedrive.com/tech/19557/baidu-gets-permit-to-test-self-driving-cars-in-beijing>). Other local companies are testing prototypes in other Chinese cities. Daimler has testing permits in both Germany and the United States and has also sent prototypes on a global tour dubbed [Intelligent World Drive](<https://www.thedrive.com/article/15829/mercedes-intelligent-world-drive-tests-autonomous-tech-on-5-continents>) to learn the quirks of driving in specific regions. But China may be the most important locale of all.

Both the [Chinese government](<https://www.thedrive.com/tech/19159/china-could-drive-demand-for-autonomous-cars-vw-exec-says>) and [consumers](<https://www.thedrive.com/tech/18626/chinese-consumers-are-twice-as-trusting-of-autonomous-cars-as-americans-study-says>) appear more receptive to the concept of self-driving cars than their counterparts in the U.S. and Europe. China's eagerness to become a technological powerhouse may also lead to quicker adoption of the technology. This has already driven China to adopt electric cars at a rapid rate. But the electric-car push has favored local automakers over foreign firms, and it's possible the same will be true when it comes to autonomous driving.

## Author
Stephen has always been passionate about cars, and managed to turn that passion into a career as a freelance automotive journalist. When he's not handling weekend coverage for The Drive, you can find him looking for a new book to read.

### Author social links  
[Twitter](<https://twitter.com/SAEdelstein>)