Authorities in Guangzhou have issued 20 provisional license plates to autonomous-car startup WeRide, allowing it to commence open-road tests in the southern Chinese city, the company said in an announcement Friday.

WeRide was co-founded in April 2017 by Tony Han, formerly a scientist with tech giant Baidu’s autonomous-driving division. In September 2018, the company partnered with telecom operator China Unicom to set up an autonomous-car test zone on an island in Guangzhou.

But the southern city is not the first in China to allow open-road testing for autonomous cars. In March of last year, Shanghai issued the country’s first batch of autonomous-car license plates to companies such as Nio and SAIC Motor. Other major cities, including Beijing, Chongqing, and Changsha, have since followed suit. (Image: From WeRide’s website)