Huawei Executive Reveals L3/L4 Autonomous Driving Rollout Timeline as National Standards Set Safety Requirements

Jin Yuzhi, Senior Vice President of Huawei and CEO of Yinwang, stated that autonomous driving is entering a phase of rapid iteration and orderly development. He outlined the following roadmap: pilot programs for urban low-speed Level 4 (L4) autonomous driving are expected to launch in 2026; in 2027, large-scale commercial deployment of Level 3 (L3) autonomous driving will be realized, alongside business-to-business (B2B) pilot programs for L4 robotaxis and business-to-consumer (B2C) commercial operations of low-speed L4 in select cities; by 2028, robotaxis are expected to achieve commercial operation in certain cities, urban low-speed L4 will reach large-scale commercialization, full-speed urban L4 will begin pilot programs in some cities, and unmanned long-haul freight logistics pilots will also commence. Additionally, on June 16, China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) opened two draft mandatory national standards—including “Safety Requirements for Automated Driving Systems of Intelligent Connected Vehicles”—for public comment. These drafts target L3 and L4 automated driving systems and mark China’s first-ever mandatory standards in this domain. The standards stipulate that the safety performance of automated driving systems must be no lower than that of a “competent and attentive human driver” and must not pose unreasonable safety risks to users or other road users. During system activation, the automated driving system must perform all dynamic driving tasks and continuously assess whether it remains within its Operational Design Domain (ODD). The standards set differentiated requirements for L3 and L4 systems: for L3, the focus is on human-machine handover protocols, including monitoring the user’s ability to take over, providing timely alerts, and implementing risk-response mechanisms. If the user fails to take over promptly or if conditions specified in the system’s safety case are triggered, the system must execute a minimal risk maneuver. For L4, the emphasis is on the system’s own capability to manage risks without relying on remote assistance to perform dynamic driving tasks. The standards also incorporate key elements—such as automated driving system software, perception systems, functional implementation, ODD, and minimal risk strategies—into the scope of safety evaluation.