Mercedes-Benz gets approval for Level 4 autonomous driving system tests in China

Despite Tesla's efforts to position itself as the world leader in autonomous driving, Mercedes is actually inching ahead in the last couple of years. The company became the first one to bear legal responsibility in Germany when its Drive Pilot (autonomous driving system) is engaged and it became the first automaker to offer Level 3 in the US as well. And now, the German firm will become the first foreign entity to get Level 4 approval for testing in China.

Admittedly, Mercedes' Level 3 approval in the US and Germany applies only to certain regions and road types, but it's still ahead of western competition. Now that the carmaker is making strides in China, it is yet another important milestone for the company. In fact, it gained approval for Level 4 testing in Shanghai before some China-based EV makers, such as Xpeng, which is regarded as one of the leading companies in the country when it comes to autonomous driving. Xpeng offers Levels 2 and 3 in China and plans to start offering Level 4 by 2025.

In addition to the Level 3 driving features, Mercedes' Drive Pilot with Level 4 certification will allow the car to make unprotected left turns in an intersection, reverse if needed and also park by itself.

Although China is Mercedes' biggest market, it has been losing ground to local automakers for the last couple of years and part of the reason is local consumers are looking for Level 2 and Level 3 autonomous vehicles. Pulling ahead of the competition could get Mercedes back in the race.

Source