Chongqing issued the first domestic L3 dedicated license plate for vehicles, and Beijing issued three consecutive ones. Consumers can experience it next month.

L3-level autonomous driving vehicles can now be registered with license plates.

According to a report from CheDongXi on December 23rd, today, the Beijing Public Security Bureau Traffic Management Bureau officially issued the first batch of special license plates for L3-level highway autonomous driving vehicles in China to three BAIC Jihu intelligent connected vehicles under the name of Beijing Chuxing Automobile Service Co., Ltd.

▲ Announcement from the Beijing Public Security Bureau Traffic Management Bureau

There are a total of 3 BAIC Jihu L3-level autonomous driving vehicles among the first batch registered in Beijing. Their license plate numbers are: Beijing AA0001Z, Beijing AA0733Z, and Beijing AA0880Z.

Just a few days ago, Deng Chenghao, the chairman of Shenlan Automobile, posted on social media, stating that Shenlan Automobile had obtained the special license plate for autonomous driving "Chongqing AD0001Z". Deng Chenghao also mentioned that the "Z" at the end of the license plate represents autonomous driving and called it the "first one".

▲ Deng Chenghao, the chairman of Shenlan Automobile, posted on social media

On December 15th, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of the People's Republic of China officially approved two L3-level autonomous driving vehicle products. For the first time, at the national policy level, it clearly supported the production access of L3-level autonomous driving vehicles. An official announcement declared that China has officially entered the era of L3-level autonomous driving.

Subsequently, major automakers have responded one after another. According to incomplete statistics from CheDongXi, within three days after December 15th, six automakers officially announced or were reported by the media to be conducting L3-level autonomous driving tests.

▲ Information compilation of some automakers conducting L3 tests

In the future, with the accumulation of pilot experience and continuous technological breakthroughs, the application scope of L3-level autonomous driving will gradually expand, and ordinary consumers will truly be able to use it.

01.

Consumers Can't Buy L3 Vehicles Temporarily

Experience L3 Through Ridesharing in January Next Year

According to the announcement from the Beijing Public Security Bureau Traffic Management Bureau, these are the first batch of special license plates for L3-level highway autonomous driving vehicles issued in China. It marks that China's autonomous driving vehicles have progressed from testing and demonstration to formal mass production, taking the lead in opening the era of L3-level autonomous driving and becoming a milestone event in the process of automotive intelligence.

A relevant person in charge of the traffic management department introduced that currently, the BAIC Jihu L3-level autonomous driving vehicles have undergone a series of preliminary tests and are now in the stage of conditional autonomous driving. The system can perform dynamic driving tasks under limited conditions, achieving autonomous driving functions on highways and urban expressways within a single lane with a maximum speed of 80 km/h.

The person in charge of the traffic management department emphasized that although the autonomous driving function on limited roads can be achieved, the driver still needs to sit in the driver's seat and be ready to take over vehicle control in case of emergencies.

Currently, the "conditional autonomous driving" function is only available on the Beijing-Taiwan Expressway (from the Jiugong New Bridge in Daxing District to the Airport North Line Expressway), the Airport North Line Expressway (from the Daqunan Bridge to the Daxing Airport Expressway), and the Daxing Airport Expressway (from the South Sixth Ring Road to the Airport North Line Expressway) in Beijing. On other roads or areas, this function will be forcibly disabled by the system.

▲ Schematic diagram of the test area

Previously, the Beijing public security traffic management department, together with the Traffic Management Bureau of the Ministry of Public Security and the Road Research Center, provided guidance on the whole - process work of BAIC Jihu, including simulation tests, closed - road tests, actual - road tests, safety assessments, emergency drills, license plate issuance, and safety officer filing, to help BAIC complete the tests on the regulations for L3 pilot road access and officially obtain the national's first batch of product announcements for L3 autonomous driving vehicle access.

After the Beijing Public Security Bureau Traffic Management Bureau issued the announcement, Jihu Automobile also posted on its official social account, explaining the significance of obtaining the license plates this time. Among them, as the "first - batch identity signs" in the process of China's autonomous driving implementation, "Beijing AA0001Z" represents the first official license plate for autonomous driving in the country that is not restricted by highway congestion, and "Beijing AA0733Z" corresponds to the stock code "600733" of BAIC New Energy in the A - share market.

▲ The first batch of BAIC Jihu L3-level autonomous driving vehicles with license plates

Also this afternoon, Jihu Automobile conducted a live broadcast of the L3-level autonomous driving experience in its official live - streaming room. However, due to the restrictions of the live - streaming platform, even when the L3 autonomous driving function is activated, the driver's hands still need to be on the steering wheel to avoid the live - streaming room being blocked.

▲ Screenshot of Jihu Automobile's official live - streaming room

During the live broadcast, Wang Yan, the chief engineer of BAIC's L3-level autonomous driving pilot project, answered some questions related to L3-level autonomous driving:

1. There is a big difference between the L3 test permit and the L3 access permit.

Wang Yan said that the L3-level autonomous driving test permit allows the vehicle to practice on the road, which is equivalent to getting an "admission ticket" but not yet being admitted. The L3 access permit obtained by Jihu Automobile is equivalent to a "graduation certificate", indicating that Jihu Automobile's L3-level autonomous driving models have been certified by authoritative institutions.

2. Currently, consumers can't buy L3-level autonomous driving vehicles temporarily.

Wang Yan mentioned that the BAIC Jihu L3-level autonomous driving vehicle (previously, Jihu Automobile announced its name as Jihu Alpha S L3 Edition) already has the qualification for market launch and delivery. However, since L3-level autonomous driving is in the pilot stage, the usage and purchase permissions of the vehicles are still limited to the declared consortium enterprises, that is, Beijing Chuxing Automobile Service Co., Ltd. under BAIC Group. After January next year, consumers can experience L3-level autonomous driving models through ridesharing first.

3. L3-level autonomous driving vehicles are different from L2-level assisted driving vehicles.

Wang Yan pointed out that currently, there is a protruding device on top of L3-level autonomous driving vehicles to collect and upload data, which is the difference between them and L2-level assisted driving models. L3-level autonomous driving vehicles can upload data such as whether the autonomous driving is activated or not. The data is uploaded to the enterprise monitoring platform through the cloud in real - time and also to the relevant national authorities to monitor the operation level of domestic autonomous driving vehicles.

▲ Screenshot of Jihu Automobile's official live - streaming room

4. Currently, L3-level autonomous driving vehicles can't pass through ETC independently.

CheDongXi observed that during the live broadcast, the test vehicle used the driver's manual takeover mode when passing through the ETC. Wang Yan also said that currently, L3-level autonomous driving vehicles will remind the driver to take over the vehicle two kilometers before the toll station.

Since the live broadcast was in a vertical - screen format, the picture of the vehicle was not very clear. However, the BAIC Jihu Alpha S L3 Edition test vehicle has appeared on CCTV's news program. According to Wang Yan's introduction, the BAIC Jihu Alpha S L3 Edition is equipped with three lidars and more than a dozen cameras, and there are also many ultrasonic radars around the vehicle body, achieving all - around perception with a 360 - degree line of sight. At the same time, these sensors are in the state of pre - installed mass production.

▲ Wang Yan introducing the BAIC Jihu Alpha S L3 Edition

It is also worth noting that the official account of Huawei Kunpeng Intelligent Automotive Solutions reposted a message from the official account of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology's news and publicity center, clarifying that the Jihu Alpha S (L3 Edition) model is equipped with Huawei Kunpeng Intelligent Driving ADS.

▲ Post from the official account of Huawei Kunpeng Intelligent Automotive Solutions

02.

Multiple Automakers Have Conducted L3 Tests

Tests Cover Multiple Cities

After the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology issued the announcement on December 15th, there have been successive reports about L3 tests from multiple automakers.

On December 17th, multiple media reported that BYD had jointly launched an internal test of L3-level autonomous driving for mass production in Shenzhen with relevant departments such as the Shenzhen Transportation Bureau. Currently, it has completed more than 150,000 kilometers of actual - road verification of L3-level autonomous driving. The test scope covers the open highways and expressways in Shenzhen, including scenarios such as rainy days, nights, and construction. However, the news did not disclose the model used in BYD's internal test.

▲ Media reports on BYD's promotion of L3 internal test

On December 16th, there were reports about L3 tests from three automakers: Hongmeng Zhixing, Li Auto, and XPeng Motors.

According to an exclusive report from Cailian Press, Hongmeng Zhixing has recently jointly launched an internal test of L3-level conditional autonomous driving in Shenzhen with relevant departments such as the Shenzhen Transportation Bureau.

People familiar with the matter revealed that this pilot project is jointly promoted by departments such as the Shenzhen Transportation Bureau and the Development and Reform Commission. The Wenjie M9 and Zunjie S800 models under Hongmeng Zhixing are involved. The test scope covers more than 1,000 kilometers of highways and expressways in Shenzhen, and currently, more than 20,000 kilometers of actual - road verification have been completed.

▲ Zunjie S800

On the same day, some media reported that XPeng Motors had obtained the L3-level autonomous driving road test license in Guangzhou and launched regular L3 road tests. This license is mainly used for conditional autonomous driving tests on the intelligent connected vehicle test highways and expressways in Guangzhou. However, the specific model was not disclosed.

Yu Tao, the vice - president of XPeng Motors, reposted this news and said, "Looking forward to the surprise in the first quarter of next year, with all vehicles equipped. In fact, some people can experience this version earlier."