MIIT Bans "Smart Driving Blue Light" on New Passenger Cars for Violating GB4785 Standard

Recently, reports emerged that China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) has issued regulatory requirements regarding the installation of “smart driving blue indicator lights” (commonly referred to as “small blue lights”) on passenger vehicles. According to relevant announcements, starting from the 410th batch of vehicle product announcements, testing agencies must verify whether prototype vehicles are equipped with these blue lights; if installed, applications for product announcements will not be accepted. The reason is that such lighting devices do not comply with China’s national standard GB 4785-2019, “Installation Requirements for External Lighting and Light-Signaling Devices on Motor Vehicles and Trailers.” The GB 4785 standard explicitly lists 26 types of external vehicle lamps permitted for installation and restricts their allowable colors to white, yellow, red, and amber. Blue light sources are not included, nor does the standard establish any category such as “intelligent driving assistance indicator lamps.” Consequently, under current national standards, the small blue light lacks an applicable classification, and its blue color falls outside the permitted range. For vehicles already sold and equipped with the small blue light, MIIT stated that separate measures will be discussed. While no official document currently prohibits existing users from continuing to use them, new vehicle models can no longer include the feature in their product announcement submissions. The small blue light was initially adopted by certain automakers to indicate that a vehicle is operating in an intelligent driving assistance mode. The Li Auto L9 was the first mass-produced model delivered with this lamp. Previously, in 2021, MIIT released a draft for public comment proposing standardized indicator lights for autonomous driving. However, this provision was removed in the final version of the updated standard GB 5920-2024, officially published in 2024. Industry analysts suggest that in the future, only vehicles with Level 3 (L3) or higher autonomous driving capabilities may be allowed to use specific status indicator lamps, which would need to conform to unified specifications regarding brightness, placement, and flashing frequency. Some industry executives have pointed out that current implementations of the small blue light vary significantly in brightness, potentially obstructing the view of following drivers and encouraging other motorists to attempt risky lane changes—posing safety hazards. The National Technical Committee on Automotive Standardization may subsequently issue supplementary requirements to GB 4785 to regulate devices used to indicate autonomous driving status.