Ford Motor Co. has joined the growing list of car companiesfielding autonomous vehicles in California, according to the Los Angeles times.

The Detroit automaker has received a permit to begin operating adriverless car on public streets as part of California’s autonomousvehicle testing program.

Ford executives say a Ford Fusion hybrid is already being testedin a closed-course setting in the Palo Alto area. Now a small fleetof 2016 Fusions will begin driving around Silicon Valley and SanFrancisco streets.

The Fusions, when they hit the roads, will each be occupied byone operator, who will monitor the driving controls, and onesystems expert, who will monitor the car's sensors, James McBride,founder of Ford's autonomous vehicle program, told the Los Angelesnewspaper

Ford said it hopes to eventually bring forth a "Level 4"autonomous car, McBride said — one that relies on no driver input,even in emergencies.

"We've always taken the approach that we want the car to be ableto handle any scenario a human would, and not suddenly throw thedriving back into the lap of the driver" when the going gets rough,McBride said.

Car companies that have already received California permitsinclude Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz, Tesla Motors, Nissan and Honda,the Los Angeles Times reported. The tech giant Google has used itspermit to operate a bubble-shaped autonomous car around the BayArea.

Ford said the new cars will be on Silicon Valley roads sometimeearly next year.

Related: Autonomous vehicles could shrink U.S. personal autoinsurance sector by 60%

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