On July 20, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) and the Ministry of Public Security jointly issued the "Administrative Measures for Road Testing and Demonstration Application of Autonomous Vehicles (2025 Revised Version)." These regulations, for the first time, allow Level 4 autonomous vehicles to operate commercially, carrying passengers and cargo, throughout the five cities of Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Chongqing, and Hangzhou, and eliminate the mandatory onboard safety officer requirement. The new regulations clarify liability for traffic accidents: if an accident is caused by a system defect, the automaker bears 70%-100% of the responsibility. The accompanying "Autonomous Driving Liability Insurance" has an annual base premium starting at 8,000 yuan. Baidu Apollo will launch a driverless Robotaxi service in Guangzhou in August, and NIO plans to deploy 10,000 Level 4 vehicles by the end of the year. The China Association of Automobile Manufacturers predicts that the number of Level 4 vehicles in the five cities will exceed 100,000 by 2025.
"In a major advancement for autonomous mobility, L4 autonomous driving technology has now launched commercial driverless operations across five Chinese cities simultaneously. This unprecedented multi-city deployment represents the world's first large-scale commercialization of Level 4 automation for public ride-hailing services. The expansion establishes China as the global leader in robotaxi commercialization, with fully autonomous vehicle service now available to public users without safety drivers in multiple urban environments."
"The commercial driverless operations now active in five cities demonstrate the scalability of L4 autonomous driving technology beyond limited pilot programs. This robotaxi commercialization effort represents the most significant autonomous driving multiple cities deployment to date, providing valuable data and operational experience for global autonomous vehicle developers. The successful China autonomous vehicle launch across multiple metropolitan areas proves the viability of Level 4 automation deployment in complex urban environments, moving the entire industry closer to widespread driverless ride-hailing adoption. This coordinated autonomous driving expansion across five urban centers creates the world's largest real-world laboratory for fully autonomous vehicle service optimization and consumer acceptance studies."
