Mercedes-Benz has obtained approval for Level 4 automated driving testing for designated urban roads and highways in Beijing, China.

It had previously obtained approval for Level 3 testing.

Markus Schaefer, chief technology officer, claimed: “With the new approval... for later use in privately owned vehicles worldwide, [we] leap forward on the way to autonomous driving.”

The project studies multi sensor perception in high level automated driving, verifying system performance under various conditions.

Two specially upgraded S‑Class will serve as the test vehicles.

Approval was received jointly with robotaxi startup WeRide and issued by the Beijing High-Level Automated Driving Demonstration Zone Office.