Driverless Car Startup In Silicon Valley Allowed To Test Vehicles

SILICON VALLEY, CA — Passersby on the streets of Silicon Valley might begin seeing driverless cars on the road from a new company.

WeRide, a Chinese autonomous driving vehicle startup that has an operation center in San Jose, received a permit last week from the California Department of Motor Vehicles to test its driverless vehicles on public roads in the city.

The company is authorized to test two autonomous vehicles on specified streets within San Jose. Its cars are designed for streets that have speed limits not exceeding 45 miles per hour. Testing is scheduled for Monday through Friday during the day, according to a news release.

Seven companies now have permission to test their driverless cars in California, all of them based in the Bay Area. The other companies are AutoX, Baidu, Cruise, Nuro, Waymo and Zoox.

WeRide has had permission since 2017 to test autonomous vehicles with a driver, according to the DMV. According to TechCrunch, the company is one of the highest-funded autonomous vehicle startups in China, receiving $200 million in funding late last year .

Companies that receive a driverless testing permit must meet a number of safety requirements, including informing local governments of planned testing in the area. They also must report any collisions involving one of their autonomous vehicles to the DMV within 10 days.