L2-level driver assistance is headed for a mandatory national standard in China, and that matters to investors, founders, and engineers watching the future of autonomous driving.
Overview
The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (Gongye he Xinxi Hua Bu 工业和信息化部) has opened a public consultation on a mandatory national standard titled “Safety Requirements for Combined Driving Assistance Systems.”
The draft aims to establish a uniform safety baseline for vehicles equipped with combined (L2-level) driver assistance systems and to provide regulators and manufacturers with technical criteria for market access, quality supervision, and post-incident traceability.
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Why a national standard is urgent
Combined driving-assistance features are multiplying across new models as intelligent connected vehicles scale up.
From January to July 2025, China recorded 7,759,900 new passenger vehicle sales equipped with combined driving-assistance systems (775.99万辆), a year-on-year increase of 21.31%, with a market penetration rate of 62.58%.
Rapid adoption has exposed gaps in performance, with systems from different makers showing inconsistent reliability and stability in complex scenarios.
That inconsistency creates safety risks and market confusion when marketing borrows terms like “high-level autonomous driving” and “zero takeovers.”
Those marketing claims can blur the line between driver assistance and full autonomy and can cause some drivers to reduce vigilance.
What the standard will do
An official from the Ministry’s Equipment Industry First Division said the requirement fills a blank in product safety baselines for combined driving assistance systems.
The standard is intended to supply critical technical support for industry access, supervision, and after-the-fact investigations.
China Automotive Technology & Research Center Co., Ltd. (Zhongguo Qiche Jishu Yanjiu Zhongxin 中国汽车技术研究中心有限公司) Deputy General Manager Gong Jinfeng (Gong Jinfeng 龚进峰) said the draft aligns with international regulations while further detailing technical content to match China’s industry status and complex road conditions.
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Key technical and operational highlights
- Classification context: National standards divide driving automation into levels L0–L5 and most current market models fall into L2 (combined driving assistance), where systems help with speed control and lane keeping while the human remains ultimately responsible.
- Test scenarios: The draft defines test scenarios that reflect China’s road environment — including intersections, construction zones, roundabouts, and tunnels — and adds tests for targets such as pedal-operated two-wheel motorcycles, temporary obstacles, and rollover vehicles.
- Design and manufacturing requirements: The standard requires safety-risk-informed design during R&D and mandates production stability and traceability during manufacturing to support post-incident analysis.
- Operational monitoring and reporting: In the in-use phase, systems must support dynamic monitoring of vehicle running status and be able to report abnormal conditions.
- Driver state verification: Each power-on or ignition must confirm whether the driver has completed training; systems must detect hands-off and eyes-off events and provide prompts and alarms when drivers disengage from monitoring tasks.
- User guidance: Manufacturers must provide clear user manuals explaining system capabilities, limitations, correct usage, and driver responsibilities to prevent misuse.
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Voices from industry and safety organizations
Liu Fawang (Liu Fawang 刘法旺), Deputy Director of the Equipment Industry Development Center of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, told reporters the standard regulates system safety across multiple dimensions to help ensure safe operation in complex, real-world traffic conditions and to reduce hidden risks.
Yang Yanding (Yang Yanding 杨彦鼎), Deputy Chief Engineer and Director of the R&D Institute at Dongfeng Motor Corporation (Dongfeng Qiche Jituan Youxian Gongsi 东风汽车集团有限公司), emphasized that consumers should be able to learn system capabilities and limits through manufacturer-provided documentation so they understand correct use and responsibilities.
Gong Weijie (Gong Weijie 公维洁), Deputy Secretary-General of the China Society of Automotive Engineers (Zhongguo Qiche Gongcheng Xuehui 中国汽车工程学会), said the standard will supply regulators with strong technical support and will guide the full industry chain to focus on technical innovation and product-quality improvements.
What this means for investors, founders, and engineers
The standard creates a clearer compliance roadmap for startups and incumbents selling L2-capable vehicles in China.
Regulatory clarity reduces one source of market risk and makes product differentiation and reliability easier to communicate to consumers and fleet operators.
Investors should watch for companies that bake in traceability and driver-monitoring features early, because those capabilities will be compliance enablers and competitive advantages.
Founders should prioritize:
- Robust driver monitoring: Detect hands-off and eyes-off reliably and design non-intrusive driver training flows.
- Proven traceability: Implement data logging that supports post-incident investigations without violating privacy rules.
- Clear consumer documentation: Communicate system limits plainly to avoid misuse and brand risk.
- Liu Fawang (Deputy Director, Equipment Industry Development Center, MIIT): The standard regulates system safety across multiple dimensions to ensure safe operation in complex, real-world traffic conditions and reduce hidden risks.
- Yang Yanding (Deputy Chief Engineer & R&D Institute Director, Dongfeng Motor Corporation): Consumers should understand system capabilities and limits through clear manufacturer documentation to ensure correct use and responsibilities.
- Gong Weijie (Deputy Secretary-General, China Society of Automotive Engineers): The standard will provide strong technical support for regulators and guide the industry in technical innovation and product quality improvement.
Implementation and next steps
The ministry’s equipment industry office will accelerate the standard’s release, implementation, and supervision after reviewing public consultation feedback.
The goal is to ensure safety requirements are effectively enforced to support high-quality development of the intelligent connected vehicle industry and to protect public travel safety.
Quick takeaways
- What’s happening: A mandatory national standard, “Safety Requirements for Combined Driving Assistance Systems,” is under public consultation by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.
- Why it matters: Over 7.75 million new L2-equipped passenger cars were sold in the first seven months of 2025, showing rapid adoption and a need for uniform safety baselines.
- What to build: Reliable driver state verification, scenario-specific testing for China’s roads, strong traceability, and plain-language user guidance.
- Who benefits: Consumers, regulators, manufacturers, and investors who value predictable compliance and measurable safety improvements.
For anyone tracking autonomous driving policy and product strategy in China, this mandatory standard will be a major turning point for L2-level driver assistance.
