China urges caution – and speed – on assisted-driving technology
中国敦促对辅助驾驶技术既保持谨慎又加快推进
July 4 (Reuters) – China’s automakers are outpacing foreign rivals in their push for assisted-driving technology, eager to woo motorists hungry for rapid innovation.
7 月 4 日（路透社）——中国汽车制造商在推进辅助驾驶技术方面正超越外国竞争对手，急于吸引渴望快速创新的驾车者。
Yet, Beijing has a nuanced message for its rising stars: move fast – but be careful.
但北京对冉冉升起的新星们传递着微妙信号：既要快速发展，又须谨慎行事。
Regulators this week have been finalising new safety rules for driver-assistance systems as Beijing sharpens scrutiny of the technology following an accident involving a Xiaomi (1810.HK), SU7 sedan in March. That incident killed three occupants when their car crashed seconds after the driver took control from the assisted-driving system.
随着北京方面加强对智能驾驶技术的监管审查，本周监管部门正敲定驾驶辅助系统的新安全规则。此前 3 月发生的小米(1810.HK)SU7 轿车事故中，驾驶员从辅助驾驶系统接管车辆数秒后发生碰撞，导致车内三人死亡。
While Chinese officials want to prevent carmakers from overselling the capabilities of such systems, they are also threading the needle between innovation and safety to ensure their automakers don’t lose out to U.S. and European rivals.
中国官员一方面希望防止汽车制造商过度宣传此类系统的功能，另一方面也在创新与安全之间寻求平衡，以确保本土车企不会输给欧美竞争对手。
Setting clear regulations for assisted-driving tech without slowing its advancement could give China’s industry an edge over global competitors, analysts say. This approach is in stark contrast to the U.S. market, where companies pursuing autonomous cars have expressed frustration that the government has not implemented a regulatory system to validate and test the technology.
分析人士认为，在制定辅助驾驶技术明确规范的同时不阻碍其发展，可能使中国产业在全球竞争中占据优势。这与美国市场形成鲜明对比——当地自动驾驶企业多次抱怨政府未能建立验证测试技术的监管体系。
Markus Muessig, auto industry lead at Accenture Greater China, said China’s regulators and industries have long followed former Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping’s “feel the stones to cross the river” philosophy. The expression means to steadily explore new, uncertain technologies, which “has proven very successful for this market,” he said.
埃森哲大中华区汽车行业负责人 Markus Muessig 表示，中国监管机构与产业界长期遵循已故领导人邓小平”摸着石头过河”的理念。他指出，这种稳步探索不确定新技术的模式”已被证明在中国市场非常成功”。
Current Chinese regulations allow systems that automatically steer, brake and accelerate under certain conditions while requiring the driver to stay engaged. For that reason, marketing terms such as “smart” and “autonomous” are banned.
中国现行法规允许在特定条件下实现自动转向、刹车和加速的系统，但要求驾驶员保持专注。因此，”智能”和”自动驾驶”等营销术语被明令禁止。
The new rules will focus on hardware and software designs that monitor a driver’s state of awareness and their capacity to take control in time.
新规将重点关注监测驾驶员意识状态及及时接管能力的硬件与软件设计。
To do this, regulators enlisted Chinese automaker Dongfeng and tech giant Huawei to help draft new rules and have sought public input over a month-long period, ending Friday.
为实现这一目标，监管机构联合中国汽车制造商东风集团与科技巨头华为共同起草新规，并开展了为期一个月的公众意见征询，该征询已于周五截止。
At the same time, government officials are pressing Chinese automakers to rapidly deploy even more-advanced systems, known as Level 3 assisted-driving, which allow drivers to take their eyes off the road in certain situations. Level 3 is the midway point on the industry’s autonomous-driving scale, from basic features like cruise control at Level 1, to self-driving capability under all conditions at Level 5.
与此同时，政府官员正敦促中国车企加速部署更先进的 L3 级辅助驾驶系统。这类系统允许驾驶员在特定场景下视线离开道路。按照行业自动驾驶分级标准，L3 级处于中间段位——L1 级仅具备定速巡航等基础功能，而 L5 级则能实现全工况无人驾驶。
The Chinese government had tapped state-owned Changan (000625.SZ),to be the first automaker to begin Level 3 validation tests in April, but the plan was paused after the Xiaomi crash, said a source familiar with the regulatory planning process.
中国政府原计划在 4 月指派国有车企长安汽车(000625.SZ)率先开展 L3 级自动驾驶验证测试，但据一位熟悉监管流程的知情人士透露，该计划因小米汽车事故后暂缓实施。
Beijing still hopes to resume such tests this year and approve the country’s first Level 3 car in 2026, the source said.
消息人士称，北京方面仍希望今年恢复此类测试，并在 2026 年批准国内首款 L3 级自动驾驶汽车。
China’s Ministry of Industry of Information Technology and Changan did not respond to requests for comment. Xiaomi has said it is cooperating with a police investigation into the accident.
中国工业和信息化部及长安汽车未就置评请求作出回应。小米表示正配合警方对事故进行调查。
Driver-assistance systems are seen by industry analysts as the next big battleground in China’s hyper-competitive car market.
行业分析师认为，驾驶辅助系统将成为中国这个高度竞争的汽车市场的下一个重要战场。
Over the past decade, Level 2 systems have proliferated in China, including Tesla’s Full Self Driving system, as well as the Xiaomi feature involved in the March crash. The capability ranges from basic vehicle following on highways to handling most tasks on busy urban roads, under driver supervision.
过去十年间，二级自动驾驶系统在中国迅速普及，包括特斯拉的”全自动驾驶”系统以及三月份事故涉及的小米汽车相关功能。这类系统能力涵盖高速公路基础跟车功能，到在驾驶员监督下处理繁忙城市道路的大部分驾驶任务。
Automakers have pushed down hardware costs to levels that allow them to offer Level 2 features at little or no extra cost. China’s No. 1 automaker BYD (002594.SZ), has rolled out its “God’s Eye” assisted-driving software for free across its entire product line-up. More than 60% of new cars sold in China this year will have Level 2 features, according to an estimate from research firm Canalys.
汽车制造商已将硬件成本压缩至可免费或低价提供 L2 级功能的水平。中国头号车企比亚迪(002594.SZ)已在其全系产品中免费推出”天神之眼”辅助驾驶软件。研究机构 Canalys 预估，今年中国销售的新车中超过 60%将配备 L2 级功能。
GLOBAL RACE 全球竞赛
In its push for assisted-driving technology, and ultimately fully self-driving cars, Beijing is seeking to help homegrown carmakers just as it supported China’s rapid rise to become the world’s electric-car juggernaut.
在推进辅助驾驶技术及最终实现完全自动驾驶汽车的过程中，中国政府正着力扶持本土车企，就像当年支持中国迅速崛起成为全球电动汽车巨头那样。
Last year, China’s government lined up nine automakers for public tests to advance the adoption of self-driving cars.
去年，中国政府组织九家车企开展自动驾驶汽车公开测试以加速技术落地。
In their Level 3 push, Chinese regulators also are upping the regulatory ante by holding automakers and parts suppliers liable if their systems fail and cause an accident. Legislation passed in Britain last year adopted a similar approach to liability.
中国监管机构在推进 L3 级自动驾驶技术时，也通过立法强化了责任认定——若系统故障导致事故，汽车制造商和零部件供应商将承担法律责任。英国去年通过的立法也采取了类似的责任认定方式。
At the Shanghai auto show in April, several companies touted progress toward rolling out vehicles with Level 3 capability. Tech giant Huawei said it is ready to introduce a Level 3 system for highways after simulated testing of more than 600 million kilometers. It showed a video of drivers and passengers singing karaoke as the car drove itself.
在四月的上海车展上，多家企业展示了 L3 级自动驾驶技术的研发进展。科技巨头华为表示，在完成超 6 亿公里模拟测试后，其高速公路 L3 系统已具备商用条件。现场播放的视频显示，车辆自动驾驶时乘员可尽情享受车载卡拉 OK。
Geely’s (GEELY.UL) Zeekr brand debuted the luxury SUV 9X, featuring Level 3 software the automaker said is ready for mass production in the third quarter if regulations allow. Zeekr is also applying to be part of a second batch of automakers to undergo government Level 3 validation tests.
吉利汽车(GEELY.UL)旗下极氪品牌首发了搭载 L3 系统的豪华 SUV 极氪 9X。该车企表示，若法规允许，这套系统可在第三季度实现量产。极氪正在申请加入第二批接受政府 L3 认证测试的车企名单。
Meanwhile, traditional automakers at the Shanghai auto show such as Mercedes-Benz and Volkswagen said they were pushing their most advanced assisted-driving features but stopped short of crossing the Level 3 liability line.
而梅赛德斯-奔驰、大众等传统车企在上海车展上表示，虽然正在推进最先进的辅助驾驶功能，但暂未突破 L3 级自动驾驶的责任界限。
Getting there is a challenge as they are already at a cost disadvantage against their Chinese rivals, analysts say.
分析师指出，由于在成本上已落后于中国竞争对手，实现这一目标面临挑战。
Mercedes-Benz CTO Markus Schaefer told Reuters that while chip and computing power prices have fallen, the additional safety required for Level 3 will cost much more.
梅赛德斯-奔驰首席技术官 Markus Schaefer 向路透社表示，虽然芯片和算力价格有所下降，但实现 L3 级自动驾驶所需的安全冗余将大幅增加成本。
“It’s a moving target,” Schaefer said.
“这是个动态目标，”Schaefer 表示。