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UAE awards China’s WeRide first license to operate self-driving cars

The UAE permit will allow the Guangzhou-based driving technology company to test its level 4 human-free and fully autonomous vehicles on public roads throughout the emirates.

A man walks near an autonomous 10-seater car during a trial run along Mohammed bin Rashid Boulevard on Sept. 1, 2016.
A man walks near an autonomous 10-seater car during a trial run along Mohammed bin Rashid Boulevard on Sept. 1, 2016. — KARIM SAHIB/AFP via Getty Images

DUBAI — The United Arab Emirates on Monday issued Chinese self-driving company WeRide the first national license to test autonomous vehicles in the country. 

The permit will allow the Guangzhou-based driving technology company to test its level 4 human-free and fully autonomous vehicles on public roads throughout the emirates. 

What happened: The UAE on Monday announced at a high-level Cabinet meeting in the UAE capital that China’s WeRide would acquire the country’s first national license to operate autonomous vehicles.

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, the UAE prime minister and ruler of Dubai, chaired the Abu Dhabi meeting and made the announcement. 

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