Audi was the first automaker to receive a permit in California, after new laws governing the process for autonomous driving went into effect on Tuesday, Audi announced.

Audi was also the first company granted a permit in Nevada as well as the first to test on Florida’s “connected car” expressway.

The automaker has conducted thousands of miles of self-driving car research already in Europe and various U.S. states where testing is currently permitted. Audi hopes to have the technology ready for consumer introduction in the next five years.

California is the home to Audi’s Electronics Research Lab (ERL). Researchers at the lab test a wide range of automated driving issues, including human-machine interface prompts that indicate when the human or the vehicle are handling driving functions.

In 2012, Gov. Jerry Brown signed new testing guidelines for technologies like Audi Piloted driving. The new regulations require companies to have insurance worth $5 million per car to test on the state’s roads.

Although Audi is the first to get its permit in the state, Mercedes, Toyota, Ford and General Motors are also testing autonomous cars.