China Releases First Mandatory National Standard for Combined Driving Assistance, to Take Effect in January 2027

en.Wedoany.com Reported - China's intelligent driving sector has ushered in a significant regulation. Recently, the "Intelligent Connected Vehicles—Safety Requirements for Combined Driving Assistance Systems," drafted under the organization of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and executed by the National Technical Committee of Auto Standardization, was officially released. The standard will take effect on January 1, 2027.

This is China's first mandatory national standard for combined driving assistance systems, jointly drafted by leading companies such as Huawei, Xiaomi, BYD, and Tesla. It marks the entry of China's L2-level combined driving assistance systems into a new phase of unified standards, unified testing, and unified supervision. It will also serve as a crucial basis for vehicle manufacturers, parts suppliers, and testing and certification institutions in product development, verification, and market access.

In recent years, a new wave of technological revolution and industrial transformation has driven profound changes in automotive product forms, usage methods, and business models. China's intelligent connected automotive industry has entered a "window period" of rapid development. Since 2026, the market penetration rate of new passenger cars equipped with combined driving assistance functions has reached 70%, with models featuring Navigation on Autopilot (NOA) exceeding a penetration rate of 30%.

The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology places high importance on the development of the intelligent connected vehicle industry. It has successively formulated two editions of the intelligent connected vehicle technical standard system and released and implemented a batch of important and urgently needed standards, including those for information security, software updates, and autonomous driving data recording systems. Building on the earlier release and implementation of recommended national standards for combined driving assistance systems such as single-lane driving control and multi-lane driving control, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has, since 2024, organized the National Technical Committee of Auto Standardization to initiate the development of the mandatory national standard "Intelligent Connected Vehicles—Safety Requirements for Combined Driving Assistance Systems."

The "Intelligent Connected Vehicles—Safety Requirements for Combined Driving Assistance Systems" is based on China's industrial development and regulatory oversight needs, balancing technical feasibility, product compatibility, and practical implementation. It proposes a safety indicator system with clear requirements, comprehensive dimensions, and adaptability to national conditions.

First, it fully considers different product forms and technical routes, proposing applicable safety requirements for three types of combined driving assistance system products: basic single-lane, basic multi-lane, and navigation driving assistance.

Second, in combination with China's road traffic characteristics, it proposes baseline requirements to ensure the safe operation of combined driving assistance systems from dimensions such as functional requirements, data recording, and vehicle manufacturer safety guarantees.

Third, considering the core positioning of the system as "assisting" driving, it proposes requirements for user usage and operation, including human-machine interaction, user instructions, and user training, providing a basic guarantee for correct cooperation between the user and the system.

Fourth, in line with the actual needs of China's industry management, it establishes a multi-level evaluation method, including field tests, road tests, and document inspections, to comprehensively assess the safety capabilities of the system.

At the international regulatory level, the United Nations World Forum for Harmonization of Vehicle Regulations (WP.29) released the technical regulation "Uniform Provisions Concerning the Approval of Vehicles with regard to Driver Control Assistance Systems (DCAS)" (UN R171) for combined driving assistance systems in March 2024, completing its first amendment in March 2025. This regulation proposes unified technical requirements in areas such as functional requirements, human-machine interaction, and fault response, and specifies supporting test verification methods, in-use supervision, and certification procedures.

Compared with UN R171, the Chinese standard proposes more detailed technical requirements for system design operating range, functional requirements, driver state detection, and user notification. It also adds some field test scenarios along with corresponding test procedures and pass conditions, and clarifies the inspection and test methods supporting the proposed technical requirements. While maintaining consistency in core technical content, it is better suited to China's complex road traffic environment and the actual needs of industry management.