Autonomous driving in fast lane

China's recent road approval of Level 3 conditional autonomous driving systems for two automotive models marks the country's entry into a new phase of exploration in commercializing smart vehicles, but comes with significant strings attached, underscoring a governance philosophy of safety-first incrementalism, experts said.

The comments came after the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology granted road approval for two L3 electric sedan models from automakers Changan Automobile and BAIC Motor's Arcfox in December — the first time the ministry has allowed such vehicles to operate on public thoroughfares.

Liu Fawang, deputy director of the Equipment Industry Development Center at the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, said the approval is explicitly not a broad liberalization.

"This conditional access follows a principle of 'starting with small, specific applications and implementing with attached conditions', with safety as the paramount priority for coordinated advancement," Liu said.

The two approved vehicle models need to operate under strictly confined parameters. The Changan model is limited to single-lane autonomous driving at speeds of up to 50 kilometers per hour in traffic congestion on specific Chongqing expressways, while Arcfox can operate at up to 80 km/h on designated Beijing highways, said the MIIT.

Liu said, "The subsequent pace of L3 license issuances will primarily depend on the safety, reliability and technological maturity of the products declared for the pilot, as well as the systematic and scientific nature of the applying enterprises' safety management capabilities."

China's move places it among the first group of major nations to formally regulate L3 vehicles, alongside Germany and Japan, which approved models from Mercedes-Benz and Honda, respectively, with conditions, in recent years, Liu said.

Automobile manufacturers possessing a Chinese production license, including foreign firms, can apply for Level 3 autonomous driving approval if they meet all stipulated requirements for both enterprises and products related to intelligent connected vehicles, said sources familiar with the approval process.

In Japan, Honda obtained type designation for an L3 automated driving system in 2020, with the technology entering limited real-world use one year later on the Honda Legend Hybrid EX. Equipped with an L3 system branded Honda SENSING Elite, the model is primarily intended for motorway congestion scenarios.

Germany approved the L3 automated driving system DRIVE PILOT developed by Mercedes-Benz in 2021, initially permitting operating speeds of up to 60 km/h. Building on this approval, an upgraded version was cleared in late 2024, raising the maximum operating speed to 95 km/h and enabling more frequent and longer use of the automated driving mode, while allowing drivers to make better use of their free time.

Sun Hang, chief engineer at the China Automotive Standardization Research Institute, said the deployment of L3 models in Germany and Japan was limited in scale, sometimes involving internal sales, with models like Honda's later being discontinued. This international experience among peers reinforces China's chosen path of prudence.

Liu said such international experience "reminds us once again of the arduousness and complexity of autonomous driving application and management exploration", necessitating a focus on balancing development with safety.

When assessing China's relative advantages in L3 development, experts point to its unique ecosystem. Sun said key strengths, including the vast complexity and diversity of Chinese urban driving scenarios, serve as an unrivaled testing ground, implying that systems validated in the country possess strong global adaptability and acceptability.

"Furthermore, China benefits from the 'blooming of a hundred flowers' in technological pathways, encompassing everything from pure vision-based systems to lidar-integrated solutions, and a strong push for vehicle-road-cloud integration," Sun said, adding, "The regulatory environment has also shown notable continuity, with a series of national standards and road testing regulations guiding the sector since 2018, providing stable long-term guidance for industry development."

The safety validation processes for the models from Arcfox and Changan were equally rigorous.

Liu detailed the procedure, explaining that both underwent a stringent, multistep safety evaluation — including program assessment, product testing, implementation evaluation and final review. Based on their respective hardware and software configurations, specific design operational domains covering speed, road types and weather conditions were defined.

From a safety certification perspective, Sun said the vehicles with embedded AI tech are treated as "black boxes", and are assessed against fundamental safety requirements.

China's inaugural step into conditional automated driving is a characteristically strategic and guarded one. It is a controlled experiment designed to accumulate real-world data, refine technologies and standards within a safety-centric framework, and steadily build the foundation for the responsible integration of autonomous driving, experts added.

Contact the writers at masi@chinadaily.com.cn