GM to test self-driving vehicles in Shanghai

General Motors has received a permit from local authorities to test its Level 4 autonomous vehicles in Shanghai. 

It is the first time that GM has been approved to test highly automated vehicles on China’s public roads of designated test zones, GM’s China unit said on Thursday. 

The testing will initially last for one year. It will be mainly carried out in a designated area of Jinqiao, an urban district where GM’s China headquarters and its local tech center are located.

A lineup of retrofitted Cadillac Lyriq all-electric crossovers will be put to the test. These vehicles will be fitted with self-driving solutions Momenta, a Chinese autonomous driving technology company, has developed with GM’s local team.

During the testing, a safety driver will sit behind the steering wheel to ensure safe deployment of the automated driving technology, GM China said.

While preparing GM’s test fleet for higher levels of road testing, the test program will also generate valuable learnings for GM’s advanced driver assistance technologies to be deployed in China, it noted.