China grants first Level-3 autonomous driving vehicle permits

China on Monday granted road approval for two electric sedan models equipped with Level-3 autonomous driving capabilities, marking the first time it has allowed such vehicles to operate on public roads.

The models have been developed by automakers Changan Automobile and BAIC Motor's Arcfox, according to a statement released by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

The Changan vehicle is capable of single-lane autonomous driving at speeds up to 50 km/h during traffic congestion. It is approved to operate on specific highway and urban expressway sections in southwest China's Chongqing.

The Arcfox vehicle is permitted to operate autonomously at speeds up to 80 km/h on designated sections of highways and urban expressways in Beijing.

Autonomous driving is classified into six levels, from Level-0 to Level-5. The higher the level, the more advanced and intelligent the technology becomes. Compared with Level-2 assisted driving, where the vehicle can control steering and speed while still require the driver to continuously monitor the road and remain in control, Level-3 vehicles can drive autonomously in specific scenarios. However, when the system issues a takeover request, the driver must be able to promptly take over the vehicle.

In recent years, China has been encouraging the adoption of autonomous driving. In September, the country issued a work plan that outlines conditional approval for Level-3 vehicle production.

Meanwhile, autonomous driving developers such as Pony AI and WeRide have been testing their Level-4 cars with licenses granted by local governments across China. Tesla's Full Self-Driving remains classified as a Level-2 system in China and has only received partial approval so far.

(With input from agencies)