Level 3 Autonomous Driving License Plates Issued in China

Recently, China marked an important milestone in intelligent mobility with the issuance of the first Level 3 autonomous driving license plates to vehicles from Changan Auto and BAIC Group. This development signals a decisive step toward regulated deployment of conditional autonomous driving technologies on public roads under real-world conditions.
Changan Auto confirmed that a Chongqing-issued Level 3 license plate has been assigned to a Deepal vehicle equipped with the Tianshu intelligent driver assistance system. The licensed vehicle will operate on heavily congested urban roads in Chongqing, allowing engineers to validate system performance in complex traffic environments where prediction accuracy and rapid response are critical.
The pilot program focuses on evaluating multiple technical dimensions, including system decision-making under extreme dynamic conditions, safety redundancy architecture, and the effectiveness of human–machine takeover transitions during shared control scenarios. Long-duration road testing will also enable the collection of large-scale real driving data to support future algorithm refinement and system validation.
Under this initiative, a Changan Auto subsidiary has received authorization to conduct real-road testing, ensuring compliance with local regulatory frameworks while accelerating the practical maturity of Level 3 autonomous driving functions.
In parallel, BAIC Group announced that two Beijing-issued Level 3 autonomous driving license plates have been allocated to the Level 3 version of the Arcfox Alpha S model. These vehicles are built on BAIC’s Yuanjing Intelligence technical architecture and represent a significant advancement in intelligent vehicle hardware integration.

• Notably, the Arcfox Alpha S Level 3 variant is the only model among the first licensed vehicles to feature LiDAR technology.

Initial trials will be conducted on designated road sections in Beijing, where the vehicles will encounter diverse traffic patterns and complex road layouts. The objective is to gain operational experience, validate system robustness, and establish a reliable foundation for future commercial-scale deployment. Together, these approvals highlight China’s structured approach to advancing autonomous driving through controlled real-world validation. The rollout of Level 3 autonomous driving license plates underscores growing regulatory confidence in conditional automation technologies and sets the stage for broader adoption across major urban centers.