Didi Chuxing to Test Autonomous Vehicles in California

Didi Chuxing, a Chinese ride-hailing firm, has been given an authorization to test some self-driving vehicles in California.

According to the website of California Department of Motor Vehicles, as of May 10, the ride-hailing firm is allowed to test its autonomous cars in the state.

However, Didi Chuxing did not give any comment about the matter.

The company, which bought out the Chinese unit of Uber in 2016, is one of the many Chinese firms who are seeking to gain an edge over Silicon Valley tech giants.

Baidu, an Internet firm, has obtained its own permit to test self-driving vehicles in California back in 2016. It has also established a research center in San Francisco to increase its artificial intelligence efforts.

Meanwhile, Alibaba and Tencent have been reported to having their own plans to test driverless cars.

The biggest ambitions of the tech giants is to launch autonomous vehicles are being tested by high-profile crashes involving the cars.

Earlier this year, the self-driving tests of Uber were suspended due to a deadly crash in Arizona involving an autonomous car and a pedestrian.

Tesla, on the other hand, has faced some controversy due to a numerous of crashes involving its autonomous vehicles. Two teenagers last week were killed and a third injured after a crash involving Model S vehicles of Tesla in Florida.

Meanwhile, Didi is planning to expand its business around the world mostly through investing in and partnering with competitors.

Earlier in 2018, the ride-hailing firm has acquired control to 99 Taxi, a Brazilian taxi start-up. It has also teamed up with other upstarts such as Tallin, an Estonian-based Taxify and Careem, a Dubai, United Arab Emirates-based.

Last month, Didi made its first direct expansion outside of China into Mexico. It has been reported that it is holding talks about a listing that could help it reach a valuation of between $70 billion and $80 billion.

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