Caixin Weekly | “Universal Intelligent Driving” Blurs Safety Boundaries, Triggers Industry Shakeup (AI Translation)
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This article was translated from Chinese using AI. The translation may contain inaccuracies. Click the button on the right to hide or reveal the original version.
2025年4月10日，山东济南，2025齐鲁春季车展，新能源车的智能驾驶性能成为消费者关注的焦点。
文｜财新周刊 翟少辉
By Caixin Weekly’s Zhai Shaohui
文｜财新周刊 翟少辉
By Zhai Shaohui, Caixin Weekly
2025年一季度，国内车市掀起“全民智驾”浪潮。众多车企表现出时不我待的紧迫感，它们争相召开发布会展示智驾布局，新车上市几乎必谈智驾——直到一场车祸为行业泼来冷水。
In the first quarter of 2025, the Chinese auto market witnessed a sweeping "intelligent driving for all" trend. Spurred by a sense of urgency, numerous automakers raced to hold press conferences to unveil their intelligent driving strategies, making intelligent driving a key talking point for nearly every new model launch—until a traffic accident cast a sobering light on the entire industry.
3月29日晚间，一辆小米SU7电动轿车在高速公路上发生严重事故，司乘共三人身亡。在猛烈碰撞发生前数秒，车辆还处于智能驾驶状态。
On the evening of March 29, a Xiaomi SU7 electric sedan was involved in a serious accident on a highway, resulting in the deaths of all three occupants. Mere seconds before the violent collision, the vehicle was still operating in intelligent driving mode.
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Caixin is acclaimed for its high-quality, investigative journalism. This section offers you a glimpse into Caixin’s flagship Chinese-language magazine, Caixin Weekly, via AI translation. The English translation may contain inaccuracies.
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Caixin Weekly | “Universal Intelligent Driving” Blurs Safety Boundaries, Triggers Industry Shakeup (AI Translation)
Explore the story in 30 seconds
- Chinese automakers rapidly expanded intelligent driving features in mass-market EVs in late 2024–2025, but a fatal Xiaomi SU7 accident and other incidents sparked public and regulatory scrutiny over misleading marketing and technology limitations.
- All available intelligent driving systems in China are Level 2 (assisted driving), requiring human oversight, yet aggressive industry marketing blurs distinctions with full autonomous driving, risking consumer misunderstanding and misuse.
- Regulators now demand accurate marketing, clear safety boundaries, and strengthened consumer education; as insurance and standards evolve, industry focus shifts to safety, liability, and responsible deployment.
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Explore the story in 3 minutes
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Who’s Who
- Xiaomi Auto
- Xiaomi Auto's SU7 electric car was involved in a fatal accident on March 29, 2025, while in intelligent driving mode. The incident raised public scrutiny over the real capabilities and safety boundaries of driver assistance systems. Xiaomi's marketing claimed advanced features, but user manuals outlined limitations, highlighting discrepancies between promotion and actual safety practices. The event has pushed both the industry and regulators to re-examine intelligent driving technologies and their safety assurances.
- Horizon Robotics
- Horizon Robotics is a major supplier of intelligent driving hardware in China, holding over 30% market share in autonomous driving chips for domestic passenger vehicles. Its founder, Yu Kai, expressed deep concerns about the rapid development and aggressive marketing of intelligent driving technologies in the automotive industry. Horizon Robotics plays a significant role in providing the computing power necessary for advanced driver assistance systems in Chinese vehicles.
- GAC Aion
- GAC Aion was the first in July 2024 to bring "advanced intelligent driving" (high-level assisted driving capabilities) to a pure electric SUV priced at 160,000 RMB, and further lowered this threshold to 150,000 RMB in November 2024. As a result, GAC Aion played a leading role in making advanced intelligent driving features available on more mainstream, affordable models in China's car market.
- XPeng Motors
- According to the article, XPeng Motors accelerated the adoption of advanced intelligent driving by launching a new car in late 2024, with advanced driving assistance systems as standard on all models, mostly priced below 200,000 RMB. In 2025, XPeng joined other automakers in pushing “mass-market intelligent driving.” Additionally, Xiaopeng's chairman, He Xiaopeng, advocated for clearer accident liability and updated road traffic laws to support intelligent driving's next development stage.
- Changan Automobile
- Changan Automobile accelerated the push for "mass intelligent driving" in early 2025, launching upgraded models to make intelligent driving features more accessible. The company is also involved in China's L3 autonomous driving pilot projects, collaborating with government approvals. Changan's Chief Intelligent Driving Technology Officer noted that the industry's move from L2 to L3 is expected to happen quickly, ushering in a new phase where automakers may begin to bear responsibility for autonomous driving accidents.
- BYD
- According to the article, BYD is a leading company in China’s new energy vehicle market and aggressively promotes “mass intelligent driving.” In early 2025, they updated 21 models to “intelligent driving versions” using three solutions of different cost and capability, often at no extra price. BYD’s push intensified market competition, quickly lowering the threshold for intelligent driving features in China. Chairman Wang Chuanfu predicted that intelligent driving would soon become a standard car feature like seatbelts or airbags.
- Geely
- According to the article, Geely joined the "intelligent driving" (智驾) competition in March 2025. Following BYD's aggressive push, Geely, along with Leapmotor and Chery, launched models with intelligent driving features. This entry contributed to rapidly lowering the price threshold for intelligent driving vehicles in the Chinese market, helping drive the democratization and mass adoption of such technologies.
- Leapmotor
- According to the article, Leapmotor (零跑) joined the intelligent driving ("智驾") competition in March 2025, along with other domestic automakers like Geely and Chery. This move was part of a broader industry trend to lower the threshold for intelligent driving features, making them available in more affordable vehicle models and accelerating the mass adoption of intelligent driving technologies in the Chinese automotive market.
- Chery
- According to the article, Chery joined the intelligent driving market competition in early 2025. They equipped their "Little Ant" model with basic intelligent driving features, marking a significant price drop for such functions—from 15,000 RMB to as low as 60,000 RMB. Chery is also listed among companies developing specific technical solutions for intelligent driving, with intentions to move toward higher-level (L3) systems.
- Gaogong Smart Automobile Research Institute
- Gaogong Smart Automobile Research Institute is an industry analysis organization mentioned in the article. It assesses market trends, such as intelligent driving (智驾) adoption rates and competitive pressures in China’s auto industry. According to its estimates, the pre-installation rate of intelligent driving functions in China’s passenger car market was 8.62% in 2024, and exceeded 10% in the first two months of 2025, marking a stage of rapid market penetration.
- Waymo
- Waymo, a Google sibling company, follows the "L4 route," aiming for high-level autonomous driving without human intervention. They believe only by achieving minimal human takeover can autonomous vehicles be safely deployed. Although this requires heavy investment and faces challenges such as rare, complex road situations, Waymo avoids the incremental approach due to concerns that humans may become complacent and less attentive when relying on semi-autonomous systems.
- Pony.ai
- According to the article, Pony.ai is one of the domestic Chinese companies following the "one-step" (L4) autonomous driving path, similar to companies like Waymo. Pony.ai has been exploring L4-level autonomous driving for several years, aiming for systems that require little to no human intervention, with a focus on higher safety standards despite greater investment and longer commercialization cycles.
- WeRide
- WeRide (文远知行) is a Chinese autonomous driving company mentioned in the article as one of the few domestic firms pursuing the "L4 path"—targeting high-level autonomous driving with minimal human intervention. WeRide has spent years exploring this approach, focusing on achieving L4-level capabilities rather than gradually upgrading through lower-level assisted driving systems. This approach requires heavy investment and prioritizes safety over rapid cost reduction.
- Didi
- Didi is collaborating with GAC Aion to develop L4 autonomous vehicles, aiming for mass production and delivery by the end of 2025. During real-world road tests, Didi encountered rare scenarios—such as a drunk pedestrian partly on the road—which revealed challenges in perception for current sensor setups. As a result, Didi decided to add an infrared camera to enhance detection and safety for such extreme situations.
- Momenta
- Momenta is a Chinese autonomous driving company that shifted from a “leapfrog” (L4-focused) approach to a more incremental path. Its CEO, Cao Xudong, proposed partnering with car manufacturers to deploy L2-level intelligent driving at scale, aiming for millions of vehicles to generate vast data for algorithm training. Ultimately, this strategy is designed to overcome data limitations on the path toward achieving L4-grade autonomous driving technology.
- Tesla
- The article notes that Tesla's Autopilot is an L2-level driver assistance system, released in 2014. In 2020, Tesla launched "Full Self-Driving" (FSD), which could mislead consumers about its capabilities. By March 2025, Tesla changed FSD’s Chinese translation to "Intelligent Assisted Driving." Tesla's internal statistics show improved safety with Autopilot engaged, but experts argue naming and marketing could confuse customers about actual technological limits.
- Zeekr
- According to the article, Zeekr is one of several Chinese car companies—alongside GAC, Chery, XPeng, and Huawei—that have put forward specific technical plans for higher-level intelligent driving (L3) and are actively preparing for its implementation. Zeekr participates in China's pilot programs for L3 intelligent driving technology, aiming to advance toward mass production and commercial application.
- Huawei
- According to the article, Huawei is among the companies proposing specific technical solutions for intelligent driving and has announced plans to launch a new smart driving system in 2025. This system will support L3-level commercial applications on highways and pilot L3 applications in cities. Huawei’s Terminal Chairman, Richard Yu, has also called for the rapid revision of relevant regulations to facilitate intelligent driving advancements.
- NIO
- According to the article, NIO is listed as one of the Chinese passenger car manufacturers included in the pilot program for L3 autonomous driving, jointly approved in June 2024 by relevant government departments. The article does not provide further details about NIO’s specific intelligent driving technologies, release timelines, or product strategies.
- SAIC Motor
- According to the article, SAIC Motor is one of the passenger vehicle manufacturers included in China's official L3 autonomous driving pilot program as of June 2024, together with companies such as Changan Automobile, BYD, GAC, FAW, and NIO. This inclusion indicates SAIC's active participation in the advancement and testing of L3-level intelligent driving technologies in China.
- FAW
- According to the article, FAW (First Automobile Works) is listed among the domestic passenger vehicle manufacturers included in a government L3 autonomous driving pilot program initiated in June 2024 by multiple Chinese ministries, such as the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and the Ministry of Public Security. FAW is thus participating in trials aimed at advancing L3-level intelligent driving technologies in China.
- UISEE
- According to the article, UISEE is a smart driving startup company. Its CEO, Wu Gansha, stated in late 2023 that autonomous driving is a unique long-term commercial challenge, where achieving "99 points" in testing is essentially failure—just one accident can ruin a company, and reaching perfect safety requires disproportionate effort and time.
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