Reports on 29 July said China will prohibit passenger cars from fitting the ‘small blue light’, the exterior blue indicator used to mark when driver-assistance is active, because it fails the GB 4785 standard for exterior lighting and light-signalling devices. New certified models are barred from using it from 27 July 2026.
The blue light marks assisted-driving status. NIO vice-president Ma Lin commented that some versions are brighter than the tail lamps and glare at following drivers, a clear hazard. The China Automotive Technology and Research Center said multiple ADAS-light models abuse the feature: blue glare at night disrupts other drivers’ judgement, and such cars tend to attract close-following and reckless cut-ins, raising overall road risk.
In response, the national auto standardisation committee, under regulators, is revising GB 4785, the installation standard for exterior lights and light-signalling devices, and strengthening admission review and test verification of what it calls ‘aggressive’ product innovations, to regulate vehicle lamp use and improve safety. For carmakers that treated the glow as a badge of intelligence, the differentiator is being regulated away.
Read the original report (LeiPhone)
Translated and adapted from LeiPhone (leiphone.com).