Chinese regulators have granted the country’s first ever permits to allow cars with level-3 autonomous driving capabilities on the country’s roads, amid a growing push to lead the adoption of the technology.
The Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology approved two L3-equipped electric sedans on Monday, made by state-owned automakers Changan Auto and BAIC Motor.
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, the ministry said in a statement.
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The automakers will conduct trial operation with the cars on the specific roads via their ride-hailing units, it added.
The auto industry has defined five levels of autonomous driving, from cruise control at level one to fully self-driving cars at level five. Level three allows drivers to take their eyes and hands off the road in certain situations.
This is the first indication from China that it is now seeing cars with L3 autonomous driving capabilities as legitimate products ready for mass adoption. A few other countries, including Germany, the US and Japan, have allowed L3-equipped cars on their roads in limited capacities.
The move from China underscores Beijing’s ambition to lead the development and adoption of autonomous driving, a technology poised to disrupt the auto industry globally. Last year, China lined up nine automakers for public tests to advance the adoption of self-driving cars.
Chinese regulators earlier this year had sharpened scrutiny of the assisted driving technologies following 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.
But government officials are pressing Chinese automakers to rapidly deploy even more advanced systems. In their level-3 push, Chinese regulators also are upping the regulatory ante by holding automakers 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 licenses granted by local governments across China.
Tesla’s Full Self-Driving, a level-2 driver assistance system, has been partially approved in China since February and falls short of its capabilities in the United States.
- Reuters, with additional editing by Vishakha Saxena
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