Mercedes gets approval to test high-level self-driving in Beijing

Mercedes-Benz said it has become the first international auto brand permitted to test advanced autonomous driving in Beijing at a time when domestic and global carmakers are racing to perfect the technology.

The approval will let Mercedes start trials of its Level 4 self-driving capabilities on Beijing's highways and urban roads — which means the vehicle can perform all driving tasks within certain conditions with human override still an option.

Some of the moves to be tested include parking, reversing and turning left in busy traffic without driver intervention, according to a statement published Aug. 2 to the company's official Wechat account.

With intense competition in China's auto market, manufacturers are betting on autonomous driving to gain an edge over competitors and attract customers.

Tesla is working to bring the advanced driver assistance technology it calls Full Self Driving to China, gaining permission to test on some areas in Shanghai. General Motors Co. received approval last year to trial self-driving Cadillacs in Shanghai.

Meanwhile technology companies such as Alphabet's Waymo and Baidu's Apollo Go are developing robotaxis as the future of mobility, testing the driverless service on the streets of cities including San Francisco and Wuhan.

Currently, Chinese regulation allows advanced driver assistance system at Level 2 automation, which means that a car can perform steering, acceleration and lane changes, but a human needs to monitor the driving at all times and keep their hands on the steering wheel.

Mercedes currently offers Drive Pilot, a Level 3 autonomous driving system approved for European public roads, as an option in Germany and in some U.S. states. The system allows the car to take control of driving functions under certain conditions, freeing the driver to do other things such as answer emails.