Samsung secures permit to test autonomous vehicles in California
Samsung has been given a permit to test autonomous vehicles in California, raising further speculation about its future self-driving vehicle plans. The company already has approval to test autonomous vehicles in its home country of South Korea. In 2015 it announced a new division focusing on self-drive software, rather than creating its own vehicle, despite owning nearly 20% of Renault Samsung motors. Nissan also has approval to test in California, as do Apple, Bosch, BMW, General Motors and Volkswagen.

Electronics giant Samsung is the latest company to get the go-ahead to test self-driving cars on California’s public roads.

That’s according to the list of companies who’ve agreed to the terms of the Autonomous Vehicle Tester Program from the California Department of Motor Vehicles, which was updated Wednesday. Samsung joins companies such as Apple, Bosch, Delphi, NVIDIA and Waymo, as well as automakers like BMW, General Motors, and Volkswagen.

Samsung already got the OK to test self-driving cars in South Korea

In May, Samsung received approval to test cars in its home country of South Korea, using software adapted to Hyundai vehicles. That sounds odd because Samsung owns nearly 20 percent of Renault Samsung Motors, which is part of the Renault-Nissan alliance that’s the world’s fourth-largest auto producer. Nissan also has approval to test self-driving cars in California.

But in 2015, Samsung announced a new division that would focus on self-driving vehicle software, rather than the creation of the entire vehicle.