China rolls out autonomous driving standards as carmakers work towards making self-driving a reality
- China provides official definitions for self-driving cars from L0, which relies largely on human drivers, to L5 that achieves full driving automation
- Drafted by 11 major carmakers and suppliers, the standards will come into effect in March 2022
China has published its first national standards for grading autonomous driving, which will come into force in March, providing a benchmark for carmakers to develop the futuristic technology.
China’s six-level standards, called “Taxonomy of Driving Automation for Vehicles”, provides official definitions for self-driving cars from level zero (L0), which relies largely on human drivers, to L5 that achieves “full driving automation”.
Before its introduction, local carmakers used the United States-based Society of Automotive Engineers’ (SAE) definition. While it is similar to the Chinese version, the mainland standards give technology a slightly larger role, experts said.
The new criteria “provides a strong foundation for the future launch of relevant laws, regulations and mandatory classifications and a prerequisite for autonomous driving technology to commercialise its implementation on a large scale,” said Wang Zhenbo, analyst at automotive industry consultancy WAYS Information Technology.
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The levels are determined by the degree of autonomous driving technology involved in steering, braking and accelerating under certain conditions. At the highest level, the technology takes full control and can drive the vehicle anywhere under all road conditions.