National Business Wire (Dec 18) -- German automaker Mercedes-Benz announced on Monday that it has obtained a license to test its Level 3 conditionally automated driving in Beijing.

In a statement, the automaker said, "Mercedes-Benz became one of the first batch of companies to obtain a license for conditionally automated driving (Level 3, or L3) road testing in Beijing on Dec. 16, when the city issued relevant regulations for road testing."

Since 2021, Mercedes-Benz has been conducting closed-site tests of its L3 autonomous driving system in China.

With this approval, the automaker will officially launch a real-world test of its conditionally automated driving system on designated highways in Beijing.

It will "actively cooperate with all relevant authorities to develop L3 autonomous driving functions for the Chinese market, and bring a safe and reliable autonomous driving experience to Chinese customers," Mercedes-Benz said.

Last week, the BMW Group, Mercedes-Benz's German counterpart, said that it has gained approval to test L3 autonomous driving in Shanghai.