More than 30 days after a fatal accident involving a Xiaomi electric vehicle with the driver assistance system likely activated, China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology conducted an urgent meeting to strengthen regulations surrounding advanced autopilot software in order to prevent future tragedies.
According to a report by state-run media Global Times on Monday, Xiaomi has amended the phrasing of the SU7 sedan’s driving software from “Intelligent Driving” to “Assisted Driving” on its official ordering platforms. This change was initially spotted on the company’s Chinese social media platform, Weibo, and garnered over 22 million views.
Global Times stated that these technical modifications were industry-wide:
Following updated guidelines from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), several major Chinese automakers have adjusted their technical labeling since April. XPeng, for instance, rebranded its driver-assistance technology as “AI-assisted driving” at the Shanghai International Automobile Industry Exhibition and announced plans for the industry’s first “AI Driving Safety Boot Camp.” Meanwhile, Horizon Robotics named its new Level 2 (L2) driver-assistance system the “Urban Driver-Assistance System,” and Huawei revised descriptions of its technologies like “smart driving” and “automatic parking” to “Intelligent Driver Assistance” and “Intelligent Parking Assistance,” respectively.
In early April, a tragic crash involving an SU7 resulted in the loss of three lives on the Dezhou-Shangrao Expressway in Tongling, southern Anhui Province, China. Speculation has been growing that the driver assistance system was active during the incident.
“Overly optimistic terms like ‘fully autonomous’ created dangerous gaps between consumer expectations and technological realities,” noted Wu Shuocheng, an experienced automobile industry analyst. Shuocheng emphasized, “Standardized labeling helps reset public understanding,” and added, “These changes demonstrate China’s balanced approach to promoting innovation while prioritizing safety. By tempering marketing exaggerations, regulators allow room for sustainable technological progress.”
Global Times did not mention if Tesla was also required to adjust the wording of its Full Self-Driving system.
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