Excessive Marketing of Autonomous Driving Must Be Avoided, MIIT Imposes "Tight Constraints" on Automakers: Adequate Testing Required, Avoid Exaggerated Promotions

On April 16, the Department of Equipment Industry I of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology organized a promotion meeting on the access management of intelligent connected vehicle products and software online upgrades. Nearly 60 representatives from the Equipment Industry Development Center of the Ministry and major automotive producers attended the meeting. The meeting focused on the requirements for product access and software online upgrade filing as outlined in the "Notice on Further Strengthening the Management of Intelligent Connected Vehicle Product Access, Recall, and Software Online Upgrades" jointly issued by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and the State Administration for Market Regulation. It also listened to the implementation status and suggestions from automotive producers. The meeting emphasized that automotive producers must deeply understand the requirements of the "Notice," fully conduct combined driving assistance test verification, clarify system function boundaries and safety response measures, avoid exaggerated and false advertising, strictly fulfill the obligation of informing, and effectively take responsibility for production consistency and quality safety, thereby enhancing the safety level of intelligent connected vehicle products. Intelligent driving is divided into six levels from L0 to L5, each representing different degrees of automation and responsibility division. Among them, L0-L2 levels are driver-dominant, while L3-L5 levels are system-dominant. The higher the level of autonomous driving, the more powerful the intelligent driving technology and the more comprehensive the relevant laws and regulations. Technology and regulations stand on both sides, with the surging demand for commercialization in between. Automakers are competing and racing, and "intelligent driving equality" has become a buzzword in the industry. Since the beginning of 2025, more than 20 mainstream automakers in China have successively announced new-generation intelligent driving strategic plans and technology roadmaps. The intensive layout by major automakers has made 2025 globally recognized as the "Year of Intelligent Driving" in the automotive industry. In reality, current intelligent driving is mainly at the L2 level (combined driving assistance), while the L3 level (conditional autonomous driving) is still in the pilot stage. All existing mass-produced passenger cars in China have intelligent driving functions at L2 or below. This means that China's intelligent driving technology is generally in the transition stage from L2 to L3, and L4-L5 levels still need to break through technical bottlenecks and regulatory restrictions. L2 level dominates the market: L2+ intelligent navigation-assisted driving has become mainstream, covering functions such as highway and urban navigation assistance, but drivers still need to maintain attention and be ready to take over at any time. According to statistics from the China Intelligent Connected Vehicle Industry Innovation Alliance, the sales based on traffic compulsory insurance of new vehicles equipped with L2 and above functions in China in 2024 were 13.094 million units, up 31.5% YoY; the penetration rate was 57.3%, up 10.0% YoY. Brands such as BYD and Tesla have achieved full-series standard L2 functions. L3 level pilot promotion: In L3 mode, the system can fully take over driving tasks under specific design operating conditions (such as highways and good weather), but when the system requests, the driver needs to take over in time. L3 autonomous driving has been piloted in nine regions (such as Beijing Yizhuang), but it has not been widely implemented due to regulatory restrictions. Automakers such as BYD and NIO have passed the access test. High-level functions partially applied: Some car models (such as NIO ET7 and XPeng G9) support urban NOA (navigation-assisted driving), but the coverage is limited and relies on high-precision maps and cloud computing power. Looking ahead, L2 intelligent driving, which requires drivers to maintain attention and be ready to take over at any time, will dominate for a long time from now into the future. The perfect intelligent driving that people envision—a fully autonomous mode like in science fiction movies—is still far away. Everbright Securities predicts that the penetration rate of L2+ urban intelligent driving in China is expected to reach nearly 10% in 2025, and it is expected to experience rapid growth in 2026 and beyond. Among them, the promotion of affordable intelligence in the 100,000-200,000 yuan range may be the key to the breakthrough and volume increase of urban intelligent driving in China. Although the safety of intelligent driving has been repeatedly discussed, this topic will never be outdated. For drivers, it is necessary to recognize the capabilities and boundaries of intelligent driving. Automakers should take on corporate responsibility, repeatedly consider whether they have exaggerated the safety capabilities of their products or engaged in over-marketing while pursuing product sales and popularity, especially when releasing new cars and training sales personnel.