Didi Chuxing got permission to test self-driving cars in California

Tinuku - Didi Chuxing has got permission to test self-driving cars in California. Beijing-based ride-hailing giant has been granted permission to test self-driving cars, the California Department of Motor Vehicles announced DiDi Research America LLC has been allowed to test autonomous vehicles in the state on May 10.

Didi who bought Uber unit in China in 2016 is one of a number of Chinese companies that want to gain excellence over the Silicon Valley technology giant. Another Chinese Internet company is Baidu who obtained permission to test a car without a driver in California by 2016 and set up a research center in San Francisco to boost artificial intelligence efforts.

Alibaba and Tencent have also been reported to have plans to test autonomous cars. But Uber's self-driving test was suspended earlier this year following a deadly accident in Arizona involving autonomous vehicles and pedestrians. The controversy also faces Tesla's electric car following a number of accidents involving their self-driving cars.

Didi has grown worldwide largely through investment and partnering with competitors. The company acquired 99 Taxi startups in Brazil earlier this year and has been working with other new companies including Tallinn, Taxify and Careem. Didi made its first direct expansion outside of China to Mexico last month.