Introduction

The intelligent driving industry in 2025 resembles a real-life version of 'The Fast and the Furious'. While Tesla's FSD (Full Self-Driving) is still flaunting its prowess of 'driving at 120 mph on the highway with the owner snoring loudly', the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has introduced new regulations that serve as a sudden brake, mandating automakers to 'clarify functional boundaries, prohibit exaggerated promotion, and require approval for OTA upgrades'.

Overnight, automakers hastily revised their promotional materials, transforming autonomous driving and intelligent driving functions from 'instant superiority' to 'assisted driving, please do not slack off'.

Behind this regulatory storm lies the 'rational return' of the intelligent driving industry after three years of 'racing ahead'.

Unmanned Car News (WeChat official account: Unmanned Car News) delves into the 'life-and-death race' faced by automakers, exploring how the new regulations are reshaping automakers from 'tech fanatics' into 'safety role models'.

(For reference, please click:

"What is the difference between driverless and autonomous driving? Autonomous driving is a 'transitional solution', while driverless is the 'ultimate form'")

I. Testing and Validation: From 'Mileage Boosting' to 'Tackling Tough Scenarios'

The core requirement of the new regulations mandates that automakers must thoroughly validate combined driving assistance functions, clearly define functional boundaries and safety response measures, and prohibit the release of immature functions into the market.

How have automakers reacted? An insider from a leading automaker revealed, 'Previously, mileage boosting was a mere 'numbers game', but now we must tackle challenging scenarios like 'driving in heavy rain with sudden pedestrians'!'.

Case: The 'Emperor's New Clothes' of Mileage Bubbles 'Mileage Boosting Maniac': To retain its license, an automaker made the same vehicle circle a test track in Pudong for 300 days, accumulating a mileage equivalent to circling the Earth three times. However, in real-world conditions, it encountered 'phantom braking' – the millimeter-wave radar misjudged 23 times due to water mist interference. Technological Intensification: Shanghai has added 583 test roads in the Jinqiao area, 37% of which are urban arterial roads, and 12% cover ports and terminals, even including the morning and evening peak hours on the Middle Ring Elevated Road. An engineer complained, 'Now we have to test in Lujiazui during heavy rain and Hongqiao Transport Hub in thick fog, which is harder than for human drivers!' Data Shock An accident report from an automaker in 2024 revealed that in 73% of 'assisted driving' accidents, the driver was disengaged or with eyes closed. Lightboat's 'Triple Safety Lock' technology trains the recognition ability of 'pedestrians appearing suddenly in the rain' through 10 million kilometers of simulation data, reacting 1.2 seconds faster than humans in heavy rain.

Automaker Countermeasures

Shift from 'Mileage Boosting' to 'Tackling Tough Scenarios'.

NIO promptly established an 'Extreme Weather Tackling Team', Huawei's ADS 4.0 team tested dust storm scenarios in Turpan, and Tesla China began researching algorithms to recognize 'Chinese-style lane cutting'.

II. OTA Upgrades: From 'Public Testing Maniac' to 'Approval Stubbornness'

The new regulations stipulate that OTA (Over-The-Air, in simple terms, remote upgrades) must be thoroughly validated, prohibiting the rollout of unverified functions under the guise of 'public testing', and requiring recall and production halt procedures for emergency OTA.

Tesla's FSD and a new force's world model have been delayed due to the new regulations, prompting an executive from an automaker to lament on WeChat Moments, 'Previously, it was 'get on the train first and buy the ticket later', but now it's 'check the ticket first and get on the train later'!'.

Case: OTA Becomes a 'Face-Changing Act' 'Futures' Function Flip: An automaker promoted at a conference that 'OTA upgrades will enable 'valet parking' next year', but the new regulations require that 'functions must be available on the vehicle before promotion', prompting users to furiously denounce, 'Who can't draw a pie? I want something freshly baked!' 'Public Testing' Turns into 'Public Nuisance': A new force brand once let 1,000 pioneer users participate in testing, but a vehicle owner triggered a system bug on the highway, causing the vehicle to suddenly slow down to 20 km/h, resulting in a chain of rear-end collisions. Data Shock In Q1 2025, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology's review frequency of automakers with frequent OTA upgrades surged by 300% year-on-year, with a particular automaker being interviewed due to 27 OTA upgrades in a year. An OTA upgrade caused a certain model's range to be falsely advertised, leading to collective complaints from users, forcing the automaker to recall 12,000 vehicles, incurring losses exceeding 500 million yuan. For automakers relying on OTA upgrades to enhance competitiveness, this is a significant blow. They must re-evaluate their product strategies and find alternative ways to attract consumers.

III. Compliance in Promotion: From 'Praise Group Leader' to 'Chinese Class Representative'

The new regulations prohibit the use of terms such as 'autonomous driving' and 'self-driving', requiring descriptions in the form of 'intelligent driving level + assisted driving', such as 'L2-level assisted driving'.

A marketing department of an automaker hastily revised its promotional materials, changing 'high-level intelligent driving' to 'L2+-level assisted driving', with the copywriting team complaining, 'Previously, it was 'instant superiority', but now it's 'assisted driving, please do not slack off'!'.

'Text Prison' in Promotional Terminology 'Takeover' Becomes 'Disengagement': An automaker used the term 'takeover' when promoting L2-level functions, but after being interviewed by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, it was urgently revised to 'driver movement disengagement'. 'Valet Parking' Becomes 'Self-Parking': A brand was required to change its 'one-click summon' function to 'self-parking, requiring full-time monitoring' after promotion, prompting users to joke, 'Previously, it was 'the car finds the person', but now it's 'the person finds the car'!'.

According to statistics from a third-party institution, after the issuance of the new regulations, the frequency of 'autonomous driving' in automakers' promotional copywriting decreased by 90%, while the frequency of 'assisted driving' increased by 200%. An automaker was fined 20 million yuan for promoting 'zero takeover', leading to the resignation of the head of the marketing department due to guilt.

Automaker Countermeasures: Transform from 'Praise Group Leader' to 'Chinese Class Representative'.

A new force automaker established a 'Promotion Compliance Review Group', a smart car selection brand launched a 'Terminology Translator' to convert engineer language into compliant promotional language, and a smart driving automaker even invited an elementary school Chinese teacher to train the marketing department.

IV. User Safety: From 'Blame Shifting Device' to 'Human-Vehicle Co-Driving'

The new regulations prohibit vehicles from being disengaged from driver control, prohibit reclining seats after activating assisted driving, and require LCC and NOA to pass collision avoidance tests.

An engineer from an automaker complained, 'Previously, it was 'the car yields to people', but now it's 'people keep an eye on the car', and even a yawn will trigger a system warning!'

The 'Persona Collapse' of Assisted Driving 'The Sleeping Guy on the Highway' Incident: A vehicle owner fell asleep after activating assisted driving on the highway, resulting in a rear-end collision with a truck. The automaker responded, 'We only provide assisted driving, not autonomous driving!' The user angrily retorted, 'Why didn't you say that during promotion?'

'Anti-Misoperation' Becomes 'Chicken Ribs': A certain automaker's system only issues a voice reminder when the driver yawns consecutively, only enforcing a speed reduction on the fifth yawn. Users complained, 'By the time the system saves me, it will be too late!' A platform evaluation revealed that 62% of users believe that L2-level systems 'allow brief disengagement', but in actual accidents, 73% of drivers were disengaged or with eyes closed. Automaker Countermeasures: Shift from 'Blame Shifting Device' to 'Human-Vehicle Co-Driving'. A new force automaker launched a 'Driver Fatigue Monitoring System', a smart driving system added a 'steering wheel grip sensor', and some automakers have even developed 'in-vehicle eye mask detection' – when detecting that a user is sleeping with an eye mask on, the system automatically plays 'The Most Spectacular Ethnic Wind'.

V. Data Security and User Privacy Protection: Transparency and Compliance are Key

The new regulations mandate that the 'black box' of intelligent driving vehicles – the Event Data Recording System – must collect detailed data, and have introduced independent third-party auditing institutions to verify the authenticity and security of the data.

This is akin to installing a 'surveillance camera' on automakers' data storage and processing processes, which must be transparent and compliant.

In the past, some automakers were not standardized in data collection and use, posing risks of data leakage.

For example, one automaker was exposed for leaking users' driving data, including travel trajectories, driving habits, and other information.

This not only violates users' privacy but may also pose safety risks to users.

Now, the new regulations require automakers to strictly protect user data security and privacy.

Automakers must establish a robust data security management system with strict norms for data collection, storage, transmission, and use.

Data must be encrypted during storage to prevent illegal access.

During transmission, data security must also be ensured to prevent data theft or tampering.

Moreover, automakers must clearly inform users of the purpose and manner of data use and obtain their consent.

VI. Accelerated Industry Reshuffling: The 'Life-and-Death' Battle for Automakers

The implementation of the new intelligent driving regulations has accelerated the reshuffling of the intelligent driving industry.

Automakers with weak technical strength, insufficient funds, and irregular management will be eliminated in this transformation.

However, leading automakers with technological advantages, financial strength, and market influence have the opportunity to further expand their market share and consolidate their industry position.

For example, some new force automakers lack core technology, resulting in poor stability and reliability of intelligent driving functions. Under the pressure of the new regulations, their market share is gradually being squeezed.

On the other hand, leading automakers such as BYD and SAIC-GM-Wuling, with their strong R&D capabilities and market resources, can better adapt to the requirements of the new regulations and continue to delve deeper into the field of intelligent driving.

At the same time, the landscape of intelligent driving suppliers is also evolving.

Some small and medium-sized intelligent driving suppliers are gradually being phased out of the market due to their inability to meet the higher testing and validation requirements of automakers.

However, leading intelligent driving suppliers have gained more cooperation opportunities based on their technological strength and experience accumulation, such as the successful collaboration between Momenta and IM Motors, and Huawei Intelligent Driving is also ushering in a new era.

In summary, Unmanned Car News (WeChat official account: Unmanned Car News) believes that the impact of the new intelligent driving regulations on automakers is profound, transforming them from 'tech fanatics' into 'safety role models'. As an executive from an automaker stated, 'Previously, it was a 'life-and-death race', but now it's about 'seeking victory amidst stability'.

Safety is not a cost, but a threshold.

We look forward to your attention, likes, reads, and shares!