Gasgoo Munich- Changan Automobile has taken a significant step forward in its autonomous driving roadmap, announcing on March 29 that its in-house developed Robotaxi has secured a Level 4 (L4) autonomous driving test permit in Chongqing. The milestone signals regulatory recognition of the company's fully self-developed autonomous driving stack and marks further progress in its push toward higher levels of vehicle autonomy.
Image source: Changan Automobile
The permit was issued under Chongqing's pilot framework for intelligent connected vehicles, following a multi-stage review process covering both technical performance and regulatory compliance. Changan's approval reflects its capabilities across vehicle design validation, vertically integrated development, and safety assurance systems—factors that enabled it to pass a series of stringent evaluations.
The approved Robotaxi platform will be equipped with Changan's proprietary “Tianshu” intelligent system, integrating technologies such as end-to-end interactive navigation assistance and multimodal AI foundation models. The vehicle features a distributed electric drive system enabling independent control of all four wheels, with response times as low as 10 milliseconds. This allows trajectory corrections within a tenth of a second, significantly enhancing vehicle stability. The company says its control optimization reduces the risk of loss of control on slippery roads by a substantial margin, while additional safety features include active stabilization in the event of a tire blowout.
The permit represents a concrete outcome of Changan's “Dubhe Plan 2.0” intelligent mobility strategy, under which the automaker has pledged total investment of 50 billion yuan to build out its core autonomous driving technologies. Securing L4 testing clearance indicates that the company is moving beyond L3 commercialization pilots and into more advanced autonomous driving scenarios, a transition that places it among a growing group of Chinese automakers targeting higher-level autonomy.
Chongqing has emerged as one of China's key testing grounds for intelligent connected vehicles, supported by a coordinated regulatory framework and expanding road access, alongside investments in vehicle–road–cloud integration infrastructure. With the new permit in hand, Changan is set to formally enter the domestic Robotaxi race, with plans to begin advanced autonomous driving trials in designated areas of the city.
