He Xiaopeng: L3 Poses Challenges for Both Tech and Regulation—China Should Leap from L2 to L4

At a communication event on March 2, He Xiaopeng, Chairman and CEO of XPeng Motors, responded to questions about "why skip L3" by stating that L3 is essentially still close to L2, with the driver remaining the primary party responsible, whereas L4 shifts responsibility to the system. He argued that, given the current global technological landscape, artificially inserting L3 between L2 and L4 poses significant challenges to hardware, software, and the legal and regulatory framework. Therefore, he advocated that China should focus on achieving a leapfrog development from L2 directly to L4, rather than lingering at the L3 stage.