Never satisfied to trail in the driverless vehicle world, China has taken another significant regulatory step in autonomous driving, issuing its first official licence plate for Level 3 (L3) conditional automation in passenger vehicles. The move marks a transition from controlled road testing toward limited, real-world deployment of advanced driver-assistance systems. Human drivers are still needed to be available to take over when prompted, so we’re not in the era of sitting back and letting the car do everything. At least not yet.
The approval follows a December 15 announcement by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, which cleared the country’s first batch of L3 passenger vehicles for pilot use in designated areas of Beijing and Chongqing. And Chongqing – on December 20 – is where the first licence was granted. The holder: Changan Automobile (长安汽车), one of China’s largest state-owned carmakers
Changan’s approved model is a battery-electric sedan designed for traffic congestion on highways and urban expressways. Its autonomous driving functions are limited to single-lane operation at speeds of up to 50 km per hour, and use is currently restricted to selected expressway sections in Chongqing. The company said it has logged more than five million km of public-road testing and completed regulatory safety assessments earlier this year.
A second model, from Arcfox (极狐), supports similar functions at speeds of up to 80 km per hour and will be piloted on specific expressway corridors in Beijing. Other automakers are moving along parallel tracks. XPeng (小鹏汽车) has begun regular L3 testing on approved high-speed routes in Guangzhou, while Huawei-backed automotive brands are conducting internal trials in Shenzhen. BYD (比亚迪) has reported more than 150,000 km of L3 testing across varied driving conditions.
Despite the progress, regulators and big industry players stress that current approvals remain tightly constrained. Full rollout will depend on further safety validation, clearer liability frameworks, and the gradual expansion of approved operating zones.
