L3 officially launched: Ministry of Industry and Information Technology Releases Two L3 Level Autonomous Driving Models Before the End of 2025

The implementation of L3 came unexpectedly.

With only two weeks left in 2025, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology announced on its official website today the approval of two L3-level autonomous driving vehicle models. One is the Changan SC7000AAARBEV pure electric sedan; the other is the Ji Fox BJ7001A61NBEV pure electric sedan.

One in the south and one in the north, both models are pure electric sedans. According to Zhijia.com, one of these models is the Shenlan SL03 without LiDAR, and the other is the Arcfox Alpha S6 with three LiDARs.

China becomes the first country in the world to truly allow L3 at scale.

China thus becomes the second country after Germany to officially approve L3-level vehicles. Given that the two approved models have already been launched, this also means that China will become the first country in the world to truly approve L3 vehicles on a large scale.

The message regarding the clearance for L3 comes from the First Department of Equipment Industry of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. The full text is as follows:

Recently, Chongqing Changan Automobile Co., Ltd. and BAIC BluePark Magna Automobile Co., Ltd., two automobile companies, submitted applications to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology for the access of intelligent connected vehicle products equipped with L3 conditional automatic driving functions. According to the relevant provisions of the "Administrative Measures for the Access of Road Motor Vehicle Production Enterprises and Products," after acceptance, review, and announcement procedures, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology conditionally approved the relevant products in the 401st batch of announcements.

The Chang'an SC7000AAARBEV pure electric sedan can achieve autonomous driving functionality within a single lane on highways and urban expressways in congested traffic conditions (maximum speed of 50 km/h). Currently, this feature is limited to certain road sections in Chongqing, including the Inner Ring Expressway, the New Inner Ring Expressway (from Gaotanyan Interchange to Laijiaqiao Interchange), and Yudu Avenue (from Renhe Interchange to Airport Interchange).

The second is the Arcfox BJ7001A61NBEV pure electric sedan, which can achieve single-lane automatic driving on highways and urban expressways (with a maximum speed of 80 km/h). Currently, this function is limited to sections such as the Beijing-Tai Expressway (Jiugong Xinqiao in Daxing District to Airport North Line Expressway), Airport North Line Expressway (Daqunan Bridge to Daxing Airport Expressway), and Daxing Airport Expressway (South Sixth Ring to Airport North Line Expressway).

The announcement from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology is like hearing thunder in silence, propelling China's smart car industry into a new stage.

Several key pieces of information were revealed in this message.

Currently, the release of L3 is still experimental: it is limited to specific cities. Changan-related models can only be used on specific routes in Chongqing, while Jihu-related models are limited to routes in Beijing. Both models cannot be activated in other cities or routes.

Secondly, the implementation of L3 adopts a gradual approach: it first opened in scenarios of highways and urban expressways. In a certain sense, both highway L3 and urban expressway L3 were opened simultaneously.

3. Similar to adaptive cruise control, it has not yet reached the NOA standard: both models only allow the automatic driving function to be activated within a single lane and do not permit automatic lane changes, still some distance away from highway NOA.

4. The ODD conditions differ across cities: For Changan-related models, the speed limit in Chongqing is set at a maximum of 50 km/h; for Jihu-related models, the speed limit is 80 km/h on specific routes in Beijing.

This is similar to the conditions for Germany allowing L3:

Once approved, autonomous vehicles can be operated on 13,191 kilometers of highways across Germany.

The maximum speed shall not exceed 60 km/h.

From this perspective, the approval of L3 this time seems insufficient and is still quite far from the point-to-point assisted driving that many current models claim with their highway NOA.

Once the first step of the Long March is taken, a new automotive ecosystem will be turned upside down: this is the first time that L3 automation is legally allowed in a way that is accountable by car manufacturers, marking the official arrival of the era of autonomous driving.

Fu Bingfeng, Executive Vice President and Secretary-General of the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, stated: "With L3-level autonomous driving models receiving approval, intelligent connected vehicles have entered a new stage of mass production and application."

He said, "The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has officially granted conditional approval for Changan and Arcfox L3 autonomous driving vehicle models. China's autonomous vehicle industry is accelerating from 'technology validation' to 'mass production and application.' This not only reflects the development of technology but also represents the country's coordinated efforts to achieve high-quality development and high-level safety. It is a vivid practice of using inclusive and prudent regulation to ensure the safe implementation of cutting-edge technology and stimulate industrial innovation vitality."

The China Association of Automobile Manufacturers stated in the published article: Additionally, conditional approval for L3 reflects three characteristics.

I'm sorry, but there is no content provided for translation. Could you please provide the text you would like to have translated into English?Institution First: Building a "Guardrail" for Safe Development

In terms of top-level design, it is led by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, in conjunction with departments such as public security, transportation, and housing construction, to establish a dual-track mechanism of "product access + road traffic." They jointly formulate rules and conduct parallel reviews to delineate a clear safety baseline for the industry and leave ample room for innovation. This release allows products that meet the standards to be tested by the market, unleashing the mass application benefits of "having laws to follow and roads to run on," and implements the overall approach of "institution first, pilot breakthrough, and phased promotion."

2. Industry Collaboration: Activating the "Symbiotic Ecosystem" Across the Entire Chain

The implementation of Level 3 autonomous driving is a systematic project that involves the collaboration of multiple entities, including complete vehicles, components, software algorithms, communication, and data services. Policies require companies to establish a management system covering the entire lifecycle of vehicles, systems, data, and operations, promoting the transformation of the upstream and downstream industry chain from a "supplier relationship" to a "symbiotic relationship."

This release, made under widespread public attention and high expectations, is an important step taken by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and other departments. It will drive the development of new travel, new insurance, and other derivative formats, accelerating the formation of a safe, efficient, integrated, and open industrial ecosystem.

3. Enterprise Practice: Be a Pioneer in High-Quality Development

Automotive companies that have obtained product licenses for autonomous driving models should play a leading role in demonstration, while the application channel remains open, advancing orderly according to the principle of "mature one, license one." Companies should take this as an opportunity to actively assume main responsibilities. Firstly, they must adhere strictly to safety standards, continuously refining the maturity of technology and improving safety verification during the pilot process of intelligent connected vehicle access and road operation. Secondly, they should strengthen data governance, establish and improve data security and network security management systems to ensure data traceability and risk controllability. Thirdly, they should explore a commercial closed-loop, actively seeking sustainable business models under the premise of ensuring safety, accumulating valuable experience for subsequent large-scale promotion and application.

This means that in the foreseeable future, "mature one, permit one", more vehicle models will be allowed to be on the road in the form of L3 autonomous driving.

Why are Deep Blue SL03 and Arcfox Alpha S6?

The question now is, why are Changan and Arcfox the first to take the plunge?

After confirmation from multiple sources by Zhijia.com, the two trial models of L3 are the Shenlan SL03 and the Arcfox Alpha S6 with three LiDARs.

Two models are available: one without LiDAR and another equipped with three LiDARs, offering multiple perception redundancies. The differences in configuration between the two models also indicate that the ODD conditions for releasing L3 are set very strictly.

According to multiple confirmations from Zhijia.com with relevant personnel at Shenlan Auto, the Changan SC7000AAARBEV pure electric sedan referred to by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology is indeed the Shenlan S03 model under Shenlan.

Deep Blue SL03 is indeed one of the models that entered the list of the first batch of L3-level autonomous driving access vehicles and test licenses in July this year.

The Deep Blue S03 2025 model released this year is the high-end version of the pure electric sports model. It is equipped with a single monocular 2-megapixel front perception camera, four 1-megapixel surround view cameras, six ultrasonic radars, and three millimeter wave radars.

The official introduction includes L2-level full-speed adaptive cruise control and road traffic sign recognition capabilities.

Sharp-eyed readers should notice that this model does not come equipped with LiDAR, and its intelligent driving system is independently developed by Changan.

Today, Zhijia.com confirmed with Su Linke, General Manager of Software Development at Shenlan Automobile, that the Shenlan SL03, which has been launched this year, can be driven on relevant roads in Chongqing with L3 autonomous driving capabilities.

In the press release issued by Changan Automobile, it stated, "Relying on the 'Tianshu Intelligence' self-developed technology system, Changan Automobile has accumulated experience in the design, research and development, testing and verification, production and operation, and continuous iteration of L3-level autonomous driving, and has developed leading management capabilities and system capabilities, laying an important foundation for the mass application of autonomous driving in China's automobile industry."

There were rumors that the vehicle eligible for L3 road access might be the Deep Blue L06, which first appeared in the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology's 398th batch of new car application catalogs this year and was officially launched on November 18th. It is positioned as a "long-range magnetorheological laser smart sports sedan" with the Deep Blue L06 officially launched.

The vehicle is equipped with laser radar across all models, featuring two Journey J6M chips with a computing power of 256 TOPS. It supports urban NCA and highway NCA navigation assistance, full-scene parking assistance, and has remote parking capabilities.

Its intelligent driving algorithm uses Horizon's one-stage end-to-end HSD300. However, according to Zhijia.com, the relevant supplier explicitly denies that Shenlan L06 has obtained L3 access.

Chongqing City to release L3 route

The model of Arcfox can be confirmed as the mid-to-large sedan Arcfox Alpha S6 with three lidar sensors, equipped with Huawei's QianKun intelligent driving ADS 4.

During the Guangzhou Auto Show, Huawei's Car BU head Jin Yuzhi stated that Huawei's QianKun Intelligent Driving will officially commercialize Highway L3 next year.

▲ BAIC New Energy releases L3 access poster

It seems that the policy has moved ahead of the predictions made by autonomous driving suppliers.

▲ Beijing allows L3 route

The bumpy road to L3 approval this year.

At the beginning of this year, there were high expectations across various sectors for the official launch of L3, but due to various smart driving accidents, the approval of L3 was delayed, which somewhat disrupted the promotional rhythm of several products. For instance, Xpeng launched smart cars claiming to have L3 computing power, and Yu Chengdong stated on multiple occasions, "Someone is holding us back, causing the industry to suffer. This is a disaster! We cannot use the capabilities of the worst performer to set the standard for the entire industry."

At that time, there were rumors that the smart driving accident on the night of March 29th involving three girls driving a Xiaomi Su7 led to the delay in the implementation of L3.

However, in fact, the commercialization of L3 has become cautious at the regulatory level, but the pace has not been delayed for too long.

Today is July.More than 10 automobile manufacturers and over 20 models have obtained test licenses, with Changan Automobile securing 17 test licenses, making it the biggest winner. The approved models include the Deep Blue SL03 and almost all models of Avatr. Joint venture brands such as BMW and Mercedes-Benz also have models selected.

In September this year, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and eight other departments jointly issued the "Work Plan for Stable Growth in the Automotive Industry (2025-2026)," which clearly proposes "promoting pilot programs for the admission and road access of intelligent connected vehicles, conditionally approving the production admission of L3-level models, and promoting the improvement of laws and regulations related to road traffic safety and insurance."

In 2021, the mandatory national standard "Light Signaling Devices and Systems for Motor Vehicles and Trailers" jointly issued by the State Administration for Market Regulation and the National Standardization Administration came into effect on July 1 this year. All L3 level and above autonomous vehicles must be equipped with "autonomous driving indicator lights," commonly known as "little blue lights."

At this year's Guangzhou Auto Show, models equipped with small blue lights were everywhere. To everyone's surprise, Buick became the first joint venture car company to equip and illuminate the small blue lights.

On November 19, GAC Group announced that the GAC Haobo A800 model had obtained the nation's first license to conduct highway L3 road tests at a speed of 120 kilometers per hour.

L3 seems to be ready to go and cannot be held back any longer.

Written at the end

As 2025 is coming to an end, L3 arrived somewhat unexpectedly, but it has opened up new imaginative possibilities for China's smart cars.

However, allowing L3 at the product level falls under the responsibility of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, but at the national governance and regulatory level, it also involves many functional departments such as the Ministry of Public Security and the Ministry of Transport.

The ODD conditions set for this L3 admission are indeed stringent, and the experience is still quite a distance from what we imagine as L3. Industry experts have told Zhijia.com that the true L3 standards have not yet been approved, and the current release still has an experimental nature.

Regardless, a new round of L3 battle is believed to be imminent.