China Advances Second Batch of Level 3 Autonomous Driving Approvals After Changan, BAIC
Summary
China's MIIT is moving forward with a second round of Level 3 autonomous driving pilot approvals, following conditional permits granted to Changan and BAIC models in December 2025. Officials did not disclose which automakers or models are involved in the new batch or when approvals are expected.
China is advancing a second batch of pilot approvals for Level 3 autonomous driving vehicles, building on the first conditional permits granted last year to models from Changan Automobile (SZSE: 000625) and Beijing Automotive Group (BAIC Group).
Guo Shougang, head of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology's (MIIT) equipment industry department, disclosed the progress at the 2026 World Intelligent Connected Vehicles Conference, according to a Cailian report on Thursday.
Changan and BAIC received conditional approval for their Level 3 autonomous driving vehicles in December 2025, and work on the second batch of pilot approvals is now underway, Guo said.
The ministry will continue to strengthen vehicle operation monitoring and safety measures, and review lessons learned to support the safe operation of intelligent connected vehicles, he said.
The report did not identify the automakers or models involved in the second batch, or specify when approvals are expected.
The first approved models were Changan's Deepal SL03 and BAIC's Arcfox Alpha S, both battery electric sedans.
Under the initial approvals, the Deepal SL03 is permitted to perform single-lane autonomous driving at speeds of up to 50 km/h in congested traffic on designated highways and urban expressways in Chongqing.
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