China’s industry regulator on Monday approved two Chinese cars with level 3 autonomous driving capabilities, the first time such vehicles have been cleared by the national regulator as legitimate products for mass adoption.
The ministry of industry and information technology approved the two electric sedans from state-owned carmakers Changan and BAIC in its latest automobile product entry category.
The two models are allowed to activate conditional autonomous driving in designated areas of Chongqing and Beijing with speed limits of 50km/h and 80km/h, respectively, the ministry said. The carmakers will conduct trial operations with the cars on the specific roads via their ride-hailing units, it said.
The car industry has defined five levels of autonomous driving, from cruise control at level 1 to fully self-driving cars at level 5. Level 3 allows drivers to take their eyes and hands off the road in certain situations.
The move underscored China’s ambition to lead the development and adoption of autonomous driving, a technology poised to disrupt the car industry globally. Last year, China lined up nine carmakers for public tests to advance the adoption of self-driving cars.
Chinese regulators earlier this year had sharpened scrutiny of the assisted driving technologies after an accident involving a Xiaomi SU7 sedan in March. The incident killed three occupants when their car crashed seconds after the driver took control from the assisted-driving system.
Government officials are pressing Chinese carmakers to rapidly deploy more advanced systems. In their level 3 push, Chinese regulators also are upping the regulatory ante by holding carmakers and parts suppliers liable if their systems fail and cause an accident.
Autonomous driving developers such as Pony AI and WeRide have been testing their level 4 cars with licences granted by local governments in China.
Tesla’s full self-driving, a level 2 driver assistance system, has been partially approved in China since February but falls short of its capabilities in the US.
Reuters
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