Shanghai (ZXZC)- BMW obtained two license plates for the ICV (intelligent-connected vehicle) road test from Shanghai municipal government on May 14, becoming the first multinational automaker that is allowed to test ICV on roads, according to official WeChat account of Shanghai Municipal Commission of Economy and Information.

Reportedly, the tested vehicles from BMW  are two BMW 7-Series models, which have been upgraded in line with China's road conditions. The two tested vehicles had undergone one-month testing and qualification inspection in National Intelligent Connected Vehicle (ShangHai) Pilot Zone with an overall passing rate over 99%.

BMW revealed that the company will increase the tested vehicles to 7 by the end of 2018 so as to ensure the driving safety through sufficient vehicle tests (including computer simulations and practical road tests). BMW has currently accumulated nearly 30,000-kilometer road testing and around 200,000-kilometer computer simulations.

The premium vehicle manufacturer has possessed over 10-year R&D experience in autonomous driving area and has achieved breakthroughs in many core technologies. In 2016, BMW joined hands with Intel and Mobileye to co-build the industry's first open autonomous driving R&D platform. Then by the second half of 2017, the company has launched 40 autonomous tested vehicles in total worldwide. Moreover, BMW's autonomous driving R&D center was officially put into operation in April this year.

Since SAIC Motor and NIO were given the first three road test licenses from Shanghai municipal government on March 1, the two automakers have carried out nearly 40-day road tests with cumulative testing mileage up to 6,040km and testing time of around 263 hours.