China issues its first mandatory safety standard for L3 and L4 autonomous driving

China has approved its first mandatory national safety standard for L3 and L4 autonomous driving, setting a unified bar for vehicles that can drive themselves. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology’s standard, Safety Requirements for Autonomous Driving Systems of Intelligent and Connected Vehicles, was formally approved on 30 July and takes full effect on … Read more

China moves to ban the ‘small blue light’ ADAS indicator as national lighting standard enters revision

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 … Read more

Cheap at Home, Premium Abroad: China’s EV Export Playbook

BYD Explorer No.1, a dedicated car-carrier vessel BYD uses to ship vehicles to overseas markets. Chinese cars cost far more abroad than at home. Take the Xpeng MONA L03, launched in Munich on July 16. Its pure-electric version starts at 35,600 euros in Germany (about 276,000 yuan); the extended-range version starts at 38,600 euros (about … Read more