BEIJING, Nov. 6 (Xinhua) -- China's auto industry is stepping up efforts to build a robust and collaborative industrial ecosystem for its burgeoning intelligent connected vehicle (ICV) sector, a key driver in advancing new industrialization and developing new quality productive forces.
China's ICV industry has delivered tangible results and reached a pivotal stage, with technological breakthroughs and commercialization advancing in parallel. The country leads globally in vehicle integration, power batteries, smart cockpits and lidar. It is also transforming vehicles from conventional means of transport into mobile intelligent devices and digital living spaces.
As of July this year, 70.5 percent of new passenger vehicles in China were equipped with Level 2 combined driver-assistance functions, while Navigate on Autopilot (NOA) penetration reached 34.2 percent, according to data from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT).
The automotive industry uses a six-level autonomous driving classification system, from Level 0 to Level 5. Levels 0 through 2 are classified as driver assistance, with humans primarily responsible for vehicle operation. Levels 3 through 5 are considered automated driving, with the system taking over when activated.
Real-world testing and validation are expanding alongside market adoption. China has established 17 national-level ICV testing and demonstration zones and launched vehicle-road-cloud integration pilot schemes in 20 cities. It has issued more than 20,000 test and demonstration licenses, opened over 57,000 kilometers of roads, and recorded more than 220 million kilometers of cumulative testing.
A plan for the development of the intelligent connected new energy vehicle (NEV) industry during the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-2030) period, released by the MIIT and eight other government departments in early September, calls for further consolidating China's advantages across the entire industrial chain and joining the ranks of the world's auto powerhouses.
The plan calls for stronger basic research in key areas such as energy and powertrain systems, intelligent chassis and intelligent connectivity. It also calls for breakthroughs in technologies that still require progress, including key foundational materials, operating systems, industrial software, automotive chips and electronic components.
ENSURING HEALTHY DEVELOPMENT
"As ICVs move faster from the laboratory into real-world scenarios, they are placing higher demands on intrinsic product safety, system reliability, cross-domain collaborative governance, and alignment with international rules," Vice Minister of Industry and Information Technology Xin Guobin said at a recent conference.
"Ensuring both development and security and advancing technological innovation and industrial application together has become a shared task of our times for the global automotive industry," he said.
Data is playing an increasingly significant role in development. The National Data Administration will work with relevant government departments on data supply, application and ecosystem development. "We will strengthen the supply of public data resources and accelerate supporting mechanisms such as registration, authorized operation and price formation," said Zhang Huixing, an official with the administration.
Safety remains fundamental to the industry's large-scale development. The plan calls for full-chain standards on functional safety, cybersecurity, data security and road safety. It requires a national-local-enterprise system to improve incident monitoring and risk assessment for product and road safety.
Chinese authorities are gradually expanding autonomous driving applications under a regulatory framework. In December 2025, MIIT granted conditional approvals to two Level 3 electric vehicle models from Changan Automobile and BAIC BJEV, allowing trials on select roads in Chongqing and Beijing, respectively. In January 2026, 30 Arcfox AlphaS Level 3 vehicles from BAIC Group began operating on designated Beijing expressways, and by Oct. 16 they had logged over 150,000 kilometers.
China also issued a mandatory national safety standard in July 2026 for M- and N-category vehicles with Level 3 and Level 4 autonomous driving systems. The standard, scheduled to take effect on July 1, 2027, requires vehicle manufacturers to improve safety assurance mechanisms throughout the product life cycle and carry out simulation, field and road tests during the development and verification of autonomous driving systems. For Level 3 systems, vehicles must also be capable of monitoring drivers' readiness to take over control when required.
EXPLORING LOCAL PATTERNS
Across China, cities are drawing on their respective strengths and resources to explore different approaches to developing the ICV industry.
Their efforts range from connecting urban roads and expressways and intelligently redesigning infrastructure to creating more application scenarios for smart cars. Local solutions and experiences are jointly laying the foundation for the large-scale deployment of autonomous driving in China and beyond.
Beijing has combined technological trials with institutional innovation. Its demonstration zone covers 600 square kilometers, with more than 1,500 vehicles tested across eight scenarios and over 70 million kilometers of safety testing. A policy pilot zone created in 2021 allowed supervised innovation through a regulatory sandbox, and an autonomous vehicle regulation effective on April 1, 2025, turned mature pilot experience into clearer rules.
Shanghai released an action plan in July last year to build a leading zone for high-level autonomous driving. The metropolis aims to see Level 4 autonomous vehicles make over 6 million passenger trips by 2027, open more than 5,000 kilometers of roads for autonomous driving, and ensure that over 90 percent of the city's new vehicles are equipped with Level 2 and Level 3 functions, according to the plan.
TWO-WAY COOPERATION
China's ICV progress is also creating opportunities for global players. The plan supports foreign-invested enterprises, encourages joint R&D of vehicles and key components, and pledges equal treatment for foreign-invested businesses.
German automaker Volkswagen has started Level 3 tests on public roads in Hefei, capital of east China's Anhui Province, after obtaining a permit authorizing real-world testing.
"With this permit, we can test in real traffic in Hefei and collect data at scale. It is the next step on our road to Level 3 readiness," said Ralf Brandstätter, chairman and CEO of Volkswagen Group China.
Volkswagen Group has invested more than 3.5 billion euros in Hefei, where its Volkswagen Group China Technology Company, the group's largest R&D center outside Germany, employs about 3,000 R&D professionals. Hefei produced over 1.37 million NEVs in 2025 and is home to major carmakers including JAC, BYD and NIO, along with a supply chain spanning power batteries, automotive electronics and intelligent driving.
For overseas markets, Chinese ICV companies are moving beyond vehicle exports to full technical solutions and autonomous-driving systems.
In October this year, Pony.ai announced plans to roll out its seventh-generation Robotaxi in British cities of London and Manchester, gathering real-world operating data to support its adaptation to European road rules and user travel habits. WeRide has expanded into several European markets, advancing commercial pilot programs in Spain and Switzerland. Momenta has received approval from Germany's Federal Motor Transport Authority to conduct Level 4 autonomous driving tests on urban roads nationwide.
As China's ICV industry continues to develop, it is opening up a broader market, offering experience in industrial governance and creating new opportunities globally for joint innovation, industry insiders said. ■
