California drivers soon may be sharing the road with more than just human drivers. Imagine seeing an Audi A7 on autopilot.

The German carmaker revealed on Tuesday that it is the first company to be granted a California permit to test its self-driving cars on the state's roads, according to a report from The Los Angeles Times.

Other companies will soon follow as California laws allowing the testing of such cars on city streets went into effect the same day. This is a long time coming for automakers, as Gov. Jerry Brown signed this into law back in 2012.

"Audi is a driving force behind the research taking automated driving from science fiction to pre-production readiness," Scott Keogh, president of Audi of America, said in a statement. "Obtaining the first permit issued by the state of California shows that we intend to remain the leader in this vital technology frontier."

And while Audi may be leading this technology frontier in the state of California, it is one of several companies that already have been testing the technology elsewhere. Other companies that have started testing self-driving cars include Nissan, Mercedes-Benz, Toyota, Ford and GM.

Carmakers say they expect to have self-driving cars ready for public use by 2020. IHS Automotive released a study that says, by 2025, as many as 230,000 new autonomous vehicles a year could hit the roads around the world. That number could swell to 11.8 million a decade later.

California is now the fourth state to allow automakers to test self-driving cars on public roads, which is critical for expediting their development. Florida, Michigan and Nevada also allow such testing.

The regulations going into effect today place strict guidelines on the car, its manufacturer and the human pilot testing it, according to PC Mag. Companies must train drivers, put up a $5 million bond to ensure payment on accident claims and register the car with the California DMV, among several other stipulations.

Audi appears set to take advantage of its new permits and the company says it has an A7 in the San Francisco area ready to hit the streets.