Lyft wins permit to test self-driving cars in California

Nov 22 (Reuters) - U.S. ride-hailing firm Lyft has secured a permit to test autonomous vehicles in California, taking it one step further in the race with several other companies to bring self-driving cars to the masses.

Lyft's permit, reflected on the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) website, comes two months after it announced plans to offer a self-driving car as a ride option in the San Francisco Bay Area. (http://bit.ly/1VX2VW7)

Lyft already has partnerships in place with autonomous car companies to advance its self-driving strategy.

The firm struck a research collaboration earlier this year with Alphabet unit Waymo. It has also secured deals with Ford Motor Co and startup Nutonomy to incorporate self-driving cars in its fleet.

Lyft's chief rival Uber secured the California permit to test self-driving cars in March. Apple Inc, Samsung Electronics, Tesla Inc and a host of automakers also have the permit.

(Reporting by Sonam Rai in Bengaluru; editing by Sai Sachin Ravikumar)