Gasgoo Munich-On October 20, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology's Department of Equipment Industry I sought public feedback on the revision of five mandatory national standards, including the "Automotive Data Security Requirements." Notably, the "Installation Requirements for External Lighting and Light Signaling Devices of Motor Vehicles and Trailers (Draft for Comment)" draws a hard line: vehicles not equipped with Level 3 or higher autonomous driving systems are prohibited from installing Autonomous Driving System indicator lights, known as ADS indicator lights.
Source: MIIT
Under the proposed rules, vehicles equipped with Level 3 or higher systems may optionally install ADS indicator lights, which must emit a cyan glow. These lights are required to switch on automatically—and stay on—whenever Level 3 or higher autonomous functions are active. Crucially, they must remain dark when the vehicle is operating at Level 2 or below, and drivers cannot toggle them manually.
The regulation effectively strips Level 2 driver-assist vehicles of the ability to signal their autonomous status to the outside world via ADS lights. Previously, some automakers had utilized blue indicator lamps to display the operational status of assisted driving features—a design choice that sparked debate over the boundaries of driving automation levels.
Beyond ADS indicator lights, the draft introduces a raft of new lighting restrictions. These include banning gesture control for certain lights, limiting voice commands for deactivating lights, and setting standards for text displays, anthropomorphic patterns, and lighting usage while the vehicle is in motion.
The move aims to revise the GB 4785—2019 standard, further clarifying the operational boundaries for external lighting and signaling devices on intelligent vehicles. For now, the document remains in the public consultation phase and has not yet been formally implemented.
