ZF has received regulatory approval from the German Federal Motor Transport Authority (KBA) to conduct Level 4 autonomous driving tests on public roads across Germany.
The approval extends beyond previous permits, which were restricted to specific routes or urban areas, and allows the company to focus on testing autonomous public transport solutions in urban and regional transit systems.
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Motorways, highways, and roads with speed limits exceeding 100 kph remain excluded. The authorisation is valid until the end of 2026, with a possible extension until 2028.
ZF has initiated its testing program in North Rhine-Westphalia, working with local public transport operator Rheinbahn AG. The company had already started trials in Düsseldorf in February, deploying an autonomous vehicle with a safety driver on public roads.
As part of the XPONENTIAL trade fair for autonomous technologies and robotics, public transport operators and city representatives were invited to experience ZF’s autonomous transport system firsthand.
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The trials are designed to assess the technical and operational viability of the system, including route selection, mapping, and hardware-software integration.
“The Germany-wide Level 4 test authorisation for our autonomous driving system marks a significant step towards autonomous mobility in local public transport,” said Alexander Makowski, Head of ZF Mobility Solutions. “The KBA approval is a catalyst for the use of autonomous transport systems throughout Germany, and therefore for the entire industry.” He added that the new permit simplifies further testing, stating, “We can now test autonomous mobility systems in a wide variety of environments – from urban centres to rural regions. In future, we will no longer need a separate test licence for this. This saves our customers time and money. They can now implement urban and regional transport projects faster, more cost-optimised and more efficiently.”
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Germany has been at the forefront of autonomous driving research, with several state-supported initiatives contributing to regulatory advancements. Baden-Württemberg’s transport minister, Winfried Hermann, acknowledged the impact of ongoing projects, particularly the RABus initiative. “With RABus, Baden-Württemberg has done pioneering work in autonomous driving with shuttle buses. For me, the nationwide authorisation to operate the RABus throughout Germany is a kind of accolade for the project,” he said. “The findings from the state are now helping to further develop autonomous mobility systems nationwide and bring them closer to market maturity at SAE Level 4.”