Huawei Richard Yu: China's L3 autonomous driving standards to be finalized by end of June

Beijing (Gasgoo)- Richard Chengdong Yu, Huawei's Executive Director and CEO of Huawei Technologies Consumer Business Group, as well as CEO of Huawei’s Intelligent Automotive Solution Business Unit, announced at AVATR Technology’s press conference during the 2023 Chongqing Auto Show that China's Level 3 autonomous driving standards are expected to be finalized by the end of June.

Photo credit: Huawei

It is worth noting that as early as September 2021, the Chinese State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) released the national recommended standard, Taxonomy of Driving Automation for Vehicles (GB/T 40429-2021), which has been in effect since March 1, 2022.

This standard clearly defines the levels of autonomous driving in China, ranging from Level 0 to Level 5, with a total of six levels. Starting from Level 3, vehicles are considered conditionally autonomous, where the vehicle's lateral and longitudinal control, road perception, and response are all taken over by the vehicle's autonomous driving system.

However, the driver of the vehicle must be prepared to take over control dynamically when required. The standard also specifies that Level 3 autonomous driving has certain limitations in terms of operating scenarios.

Currently, most vehicles on the roads in China are equipped with Level 2 advanced driver assistance systems, including models from Tesla, NIO, XPeng, and Li Auto. 

Nevertheless, during Huawei's press conference for the new AITO M5 intelligent driving edition in April this year, Richard Yu stated that the vehicle is equipped with the HUAWEI ADS 2.0 smart driving system, which falls under the Level 2.99999... category, nearing Level 3 advanced intelligent driving systems.