China to launch its self-owned taxonomy about vehicle driving automation in 2020

Shanghai (Gasgoo)- China's self-owned taxonomy related to driving automation for vehicles has recently approved by the National Technical Committee of Auto Standardization, and is set to be launched in 2020. The formulation of the standard is led by Changan Automobile and China Automotive Technology & Research Center (CATARC).

The national standard covers the definition about driving automation, the classification principle over driving automation, the elements on which the classification should be based, the definition about each automated driving level, the method to decide an automation level as well as the technical requirements over various levels.

（Photo source: Changan Automobile)

In accordance with the Chinese standard, the driving automation is divided into six levels. The Level 0 is the lowest one that requires driver to control the car from the start to the end of the journey. Driver support features are limited to warning and momentary assistance, such as lane departure warning, forward collision warning and automatic emergency brake. Under the highest level (Level 5), the driver is not expected to take over driving when automated driving features are in use—they can be used in all conditions everywhere.

There have been two driving automation standards universally acknowledged by the world, which are issued by the NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) of the U.S. and the SAE (Society of Automotive Engineers). With the fast development of ICVs, it is indispensable for China to develop its own harmonized standard.

Changan Automobile, one of leading entities to the project, has so far completed autonomous driving tests exceeding 12 million kilometers, of which the range for level 3 vehicles and above has topped 1 million kilometers.