German legacy automaker Mercedes-Benz successfully secured the approval to start its planned Level 4 autonomous driving tests in the capital of China, according to local industry news platform CnEVPost.
Mercedes-Benz receives permit to conduct L4 autonomous driving trials in Chinese capital
Mercedes-Benz has just become the first-ever foreign automaker to gain government approval to implement L4 autonomous driving tests in Beijing.
“Mercedes-Benz becomes first international car maker to obtain approval for Level 4 automated driving testing on urban roads and highways in Beijing for privately owned vehicles.”
Mercedes-Benz
In hindsight, the German automaker received the permit for L3 testing in the capital at the end of 2023.
With the recent approval, Mercedes-Benz can now initiate L4 autonomous driving tests on Beijing’s city roads, highways, and expressways.
As per the report, Mercedes-Benz will use two retrofitted S-Class sedans for the pilot program. These vehicles have a wide range of sensors, such as lidar, millimeter-wave radar, and cameras.
Test objective
Mercedes-Benz aims to leverage the pilot program to determine how well its advanced self-driving system can perceive its surroundings using multiple sensors and handle challenging driving situations.
The company expects the testing to help it deeply integrate the system’s ability to understand its surroundings with its ability to make decisions.
For context, L4 autonomous is a “highly automated” driving capability that requires no human driver intervention in most situations.
Mercedes-Benz’s L4 autonomous driving system
Mercedes-Benz noted that its L4 autonomous driving system-equipped vehicles can effortlessly park in/out of parking lots, perform U-turns, handle roundabouts, and complete unprotected left turns on their own. In addition, the system can enable the vehicle to automatically change lanes and pass through toll booths on highway sections.
The German automaker further outlined that the vehicle can ensure minimal risk in extreme situations by finding the safest spot to stop on its own.
These groundbreaking capabilities signify a notable improvement from Mercedes-Benz’s L3 autonomous driving system, which it started testing in Beijing late last year.
Notably, China currently acknowledges six autonomous driving system levels, including 0-2 being driver assistance for human drivers and 3-5 being autonomous driving.
While Mercedes-Benz is already poised to make significant strides in its L4 autonomous driving system tests in Beijing, Tesla is still waiting for Chinese regulators to approve its Full Self-Driving (Supervised) software.
