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China’s first batch of L3-level autonomous driving vehicles have received approval for market entry!
Release date:
2025-12-18
2025 Year 12 Moon 15 On the day, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology released the No. 401 The "Announcement on Motor Vehicle Manufacturers and Products for Road Use" has conditionally approved two models—Chang'an and Jihu. L3 The application for approval of vehicles with conditional automated driving capabilities has been submitted. This marks the official transition of China’s autonomous driving industry from the “technology validation” phase to a new stage of “mass production and application,” initiating a fresh journey of testing under real-world, complex traffic conditions.
According to the national standard “Classification of Automated Driving Levels for Automobiles” ( GB/T 40429-2021 ), L2 Level-based driving assistance and L3 Between levels of conditional automated driving, there lies a fundamental dividing line. The core difference lies in the shift of the “party bearing responsibility”: L2 The following fall under driver assistance; the driver always remains responsible for driving. And... L3 And above this threshold, the vehicle officially enters the realm of autonomous driving, and liability for driving may be allocated among various parties, including the driver, the manufacturer, and the supplier of the autonomous driving system.
This authorization is by no means a “general liberalization.” The activation of features for approved vehicle models is strictly limited to designated road segments and scenarios—for example, Changan vehicles are subject to speed restrictions. 50km/h On congested highways, the Jihu model is subject to speed limits. 80km/h at high speed, and pilot programs will be organized by designated user entities, subject to comprehensive monitoring throughout the entire process. This reflects the regulators’ prudent approach of “safety first, taking small steps at a rapid pace.”
L3 The implementation of autonomous driving has been defined by industry experts as a systematic engineering endeavor involving the coordinated collaboration of multiple stakeholders, including vehicle manufacturers, component suppliers, software algorithms, communication providers, and data services. Liu Fawang, deputy director of the Equipment Industry Development Center under the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, pointed out that this safety assessment represents a systematic, end-to-end evaluation of product safety.
When a system is required to “take responsibility” for driving behavior, its reliability ceases to be an optional feature and becomes a mandatory requirement under legal, technical, and commercial logic. This transformation places significant pressure on the entire industrial chain—especially on high-performance semiconductor chips, which serve as the “brain” and “central nervous system” of automotive intelligence. These chips must process massive amounts of sensor data with near-zero defects and make instantaneous decisions under complex operating conditions, extreme temperatures, and over extended lifecycles.
Therefore, L3 The commercialization process of autonomous driving at increasingly higher levels may appear to be a race between vehicle integration and algorithm iteration, but at its core lies the strict adherence by automotive-grade chips to comprehensive development and production standards across the entire value chain—as well as full compliance with authoritative certifications. This involves not only an unwavering pursuit of chip functional safety, intended functional safety, long-term reliability, and consistency, but also rigorous, high-standard verification throughout the entire process—from design and manufacturing all the way to packaging and testing. Crucially, automotive-grade chips must first and foremost meet the stringent requirements set forth by leading authorities in the automotive electronics field. AEC-Q Series reliability standards, and strictly adhere to them. ISO 26262 Functional safety process requirements—these two core elements serve as its foundation. L3 + The prerequisites and bottom lines for the commercialization and implementation of autonomous driving.
This time L3 The approval of these vehicle models for road use is akin to pressing a crucial “accelerator” for the entire smart-car industry chain. It not only signals that more models will soon join the pilot program but also clearly indicates that the race toward autonomous driving is shifting from the “first half,” focused on achieving functional capabilities, to the “second half”—a phase dedicated to ensuring the system’s safety and reliability around the clock and throughout its entire lifecycle. In this second half, guaranteeing the absolute reliability of every single chip has become an indispensable, invisible cornerstone underpinning the realization of the entire smart-mobility vision.
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