On July 30, 2026, the mandatory national standard "Intelligent Connected Vehicles — Safety Requirements for Automated Driving Systems" (GB 44721-2026) was approved for release, set to take effect on July 1, 2027. This standard establishes unified safety准入 thresholds for L3/L4 autonomous vehicles across four dimensions: enterprise lifecycle assurance, dynamic driving task execution, human-machine interaction, and testing methods.
Mandatory Standards End Unregulated AD Competition
In July 2026, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology successively issued two mandatory national standards: GB 47955-2026 for combined driving assistance systems and GB 44721-2026 for automated driving systems, effective January 2027 and July 2027 respectively. These standards clearly delineate the boundary between assisted driving and autonomous driving, covering mainstream mass-produced intelligent driving products from L2 to L4 levels.
Key Impact Areas:
- Regulatory: Removes institutional barriers for L3/L4 commercialization, clarifying driver bears full responsibility in L2 mode while OEMs assume system safety liability when L3 is activated
- Competitive: Shifts industry competition from hardware parameter benchmarking to safety capability comparison
- International: China's UN ADS GTR, approved in June 2026, is complemented by stricter domestic requirements
Four-Pillar Safety Requirement Framework
GB 44721-2026 establishes a comprehensive safety framework:
Enterprise Lifecycle Safety Assurance Manufacturers must build safety capabilities spanning safety policy, risk management, safety assurance, and continuous improvement across product design, manufacturing, and post-deployment phases.
Dynamic Driving Task Execution The automated driving system must achieve safety levels at least equivalent to a qualified and attentive human driver, while not creating unreasonable risks to users or other road participants.
Human-Machine Interaction & User Notification
- Safe activation and deactivation processes
- Clear status signals for ready, active, and deactivated states
- L3 systems must include driver takeover capability monitoring
- Manufacturers must inform users of automation levels, capability boundaries, and limitations
Multi-Dimensional Testing Methods A three-tier testing framework combines enterprise capability audits, safety documentation reviews, and confirmatory tests conducted by third-party agencies per GB/T 41798, GB/T 44719, and GB/T 47025 standards.
| Standard Dimension | GB 47955-2026 | GB 44721-2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Applicable Level | L2 Combined Assistance | L3/L4 Automated Driving |
| Effective Date | January 2027 | July 2027 |
| Liability | Driver fully responsible | OEM liable when system active |
| Core Focus | Human drives, system assists | System performs driving task |
| Hardware Mandate | No specific hardware required | No specific hardware required |
Industry Impact and Compliance Pathway
The mandatory standards create both short-term compliance challenges and long-term transformation opportunities. New type-approved vehicles must comply from July 2027; existing approvals transition by July 2028.
Automaker Compliance Priorities:
- Audit existing L3/L4 product lines against four safety requirements
- Establish comprehensive safety documentation and lifecycle management
- Upgrade simulation, proving ground, and road testing capabilities
- Optimize HMI design and user notification workflows
Notably, the standards maintain outcome-oriented principles without mandating specific hardware such as LiDAR, preserving flexibility for diverse technical approaches including vision-only, LiDAR-based, and fusion perception systems.
Cui Dongshu, Secretary-General of CPCA, stated that these mandatory standards do not limit innovation but rather establish a "safety runway" for the autonomous driving industry, pushing China's intelligent connected vehicle sector toward high-quality development grounded in safety and solid technology rather than marketing-driven growth.
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