Chinese smart EV maker Nio has received government approval to build a third factory in the country, Reuters reports, citing sources familiar with the matter.

Nine major Chinese automakers, including BYD, SAIC, and NIO, have been allowed to proceed with a pilot program to test their production vehicles with

China has granted approval to a first group of nine automakers to carry out tests on vehicles with advanced autonomous driving technologies on public roads, as part of a plan to accelerate adoption of self-driving cars.

China has approved nine local automakers to test their self-driving technology on certain roads, including EV companies BYD (BYDDF) and NIO (NIO), as well as state-owned automobiles.