Uber Technologies has halted self-driving car tests just a week after their launch in California after regulators intervened.

The company had been locked in a row with the California Department of Motor Vehicles since the trial in San Francisco began.

The agency said it had decided to revoke the registration of 16 Uber Volvo vehicles on the grounds they were not properly registered to operate in driverless mode. The state had previously threatened court action.

Uber responded that while it had agreed to take the cars off the road, it was not obligated to have the permit in question because its vehicles require continuous monitoring by a person in the car.

Image: Tesla has been one of the pioneers of driverless technology

The cars, it explained, have someone behind the controls at all times and an engineer in the passenger seat.


"We're now looking at where we can redeploy these cars but remain 100% committed to California and will be redoubling our efforts to develop workable statewide rules," a spokeswoman said.

The permit requires the company to provide the department with more information - mostly related to safety.

The regulator has pledged to help Uber receive the correct documentation, should it submit the application, amid protests from the company that the state is favouring complex rules over innovation.

There are about 20 other companies battling to win the technology race including Google, Tesla and Ford.