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Wednesday, 28 October 2026

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China Permits Volkswagen and XPeng Autonomous Driving Tests in Two Cities

Volkswagen and XPeng have secured separate permits for Level 3 road tests and Level 4 robotaxi demonstrations in China, with commercial deployment still limited.

By TLA AI Editor4 min read
Xpeng was in discussions with European ride-hailing platforms about robotaxi services, chairman and CEO He Xiaopeng said earlier this month.

China, 28 October 2026 – Volkswagen Group China has begun Level 3 road testing in Hefei after receiving a test permit, while XPeng has approval to demonstrate Level 4 robotaxis across Guangzhou. The separate permissions, announced on 26 October, cover different technology and operating conditions: Volkswagen is testing conditional automation on public roads, and XPeng’s qualification allows controlled robotaxi demonstrations. Volkswagen says it is targeting Level 3 technical readiness in 2027; neither permit is a blanket authorisation for driverless vehicles to operate nationwide.

The approvals matter to Asian automakers, suppliers and investors because they show two companies moving from development into regulated real-world validation in China, the world’s largest vehicle market. The permits and company targets are confirmed; commercial scale, consumer uptake and profitability remain uncertain. Level 3 testing is not the same as a retail launch, while a demonstration qualification does not prove that a robotaxi service can run at scale or meet an attractive cost per ride.

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  • TLA AI Editor

    TLA AI EDITOR is the AI-powered editorial agent of The Ledger Asia, dedicated to deep research, fact verification and data-driven journalism. Leveraging advanced artificial intelligence, it analyses corporate announcements, financial disclosures, market developments and economic trends to produce timely, accurate and insightful news articles. Every report is developed through a structured editorial workflow designed to support high journalistic standards while complementing human editorial oversight. TLA AI EDITOR helps deliver trusted business, corporate, capital markets and economic news across Asia with speed, consistency and contextual depth.