China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) has given approval to the first two L3 autonomous cars, both pure EVs, that can only navigate urban streets and highways in designated areas, further advancing self-driving technology in the world’s largest automotive market. Changan Automobile and BAIC were given the go-ahead to build electric vehicles (EVs) that would allow drivers to be hands off in some circumstances. “The two companies have passed the tests for the two models and relevant safety reviews,” the Ministry said, adding that it would collaborate with other authorities to monitor the vehicles while promoting the development of the smart driving industry in China. MIIT did not say when the two cars would hit the market. Technically, carmakers can start assembling the models once they receive the green light from the Ministry.
The Changan vehicle is approved to operate on selected highway and urban expressway sections in Chongqing, while the Arcfox vehicle is approved to drive on designated sections in Beijing. Sun Hang, Chief Engineer of the China Automotive Standardization Research Institute, said “the approval of the first L3 models means that for the first time, China has allowed autonomous vehicles to enter the market as formal products at the policy level.”
At present, most driver-assistance systems used in intelligent cars are classified as either L2 or L2+, which require drivers to keep their hands on the wheel at all times. Beijing has yet to legalize L3 systems, which are considered “hands-off” under criteria set by global standards organization SAE International. But drivers are still required to be fully alert to ensure that they can intervene under any circumstances. L5, or fully autonomous driving, means a vehicle does not need human intervention under any circumstances. “The approvals showed that authorities were willing to deregulate the market,” said Phate Zhang, Founder of Shanghai-based data provider CnEVPost. “Officials are likely to take a step-by-step approach in distributing more manufacturing licenses to other carmakers.”
The model to be built by Chongqing-based Changan would be able to navigate congested urban roads at a maximum speed of 50 km/h when its driver-assistance system was turned on, the MIIT said. BAIC’s model, under its Arcfox EV brand, was allowed to navigate highways or expressways autonomously with a top speed of 80 km/h, it added. Cars fitted with preliminary self-driving systems saw a surge in sales in China over the past few years, driven by Chinese consumers’ willingness to embrace new technologies. China’s first license plate for Level-3 autonomous driving – YuAD0001Z – was issued to China Changan Auto Group by the Chongqing Municipal Public Security Bureau’s Traffic Management Department. This milestone not only places Changan at the forefront of the self-driving car industry, but also signals a pivotal shift toward the mass production and commercial rollout of autonomous vehicles in China.
Two out of every three new cars sold in China last year have L2 autonomous driving capability or higher, according to Zhang Yongwei, General Secretary of China EV100. According to Andrew Fan, Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of Hesai Group, the world’s largest maker of lidar sensors, preparations were well under way in China’s vehicle industry for the next generation of autonomous-driving features, even before Beijing cleared the regulatory road ahead, the South China Morning Post reports. Chinese carmakers could sell about 270,000 semi-autonomous vehicles next year, representing 1% of the total market, Daiwa says.
According to the China Daily, ride-hailing firm Pony.ai had a fleet of 961 robotaxis in the third quarter of 2025, with 667 being the seventh-generation models. The average daily revenue of each vehicle reached CNY299, supported by a daily average of 23 orders per vehicle. Revenue of the company in the robotaxi segment exceeded CNY47.7 million in the third quarter, representing a year-on-year surge of 89%. Pony.ai plans to expand its fleet to 3,000 vehicles by the end of 2026 and aims for a 100,000-unit fleet by 2030, at which point the company expects to reach overall breakeven.
