China’s Ministry of Public Security has drafted new national safety standards for motor vehicles that include significant restrictions on acceleration capabilities and enhanced safety measures for electric vehicles.
The draft regulation titled “Technical Conditions for Motor Vehicle Operation Safety” proposes that passenger vehicles must default to a setting where acceleration from 0 to 100 km/h takes no less than 5 seconds. This measure aims to reduce safety risks associated with excessive acceleration performance.
For electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles, the draft includes multiple targeted safety provisions. These vehicles must be equipped with pedal misapplication suppression technology that can detect and restrict power output when the vehicle is stationary or crawling, providing clear audio-visual warnings to drivers to prevent unintended acceleration.
The draft also mandates that pure electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles must be able to cut off power circuits in specific situations automatically. This includes when vehicle speed changes by 25 km/h or more within 150 milliseconds in either longitudinal or lateral directions, or when irreversible restraint devices (such as airbags) deploy.
Battery safety features are prominently addressed in the proposal. Electric vehicles must monitor battery status and provide automatic detection, recording, and early warning of abnormal conditions in battery cells. When thermal issues are detected, the vehicle must alert occupants through obvious audio and visual signals.
Power batteries must be equipped with directional pressure relief and pressure balancing devices, with designed pressure relief channels that won’t endanger cabin occupants. For pure electric and plug-in hybrid buses 6 meters or longer in length, the battery compartment must not catch fire or explode for at least 5 minutes after a battery alarm, providing passengers adequate time to evacuate.
The draft also addresses driver assistance systems, requiring vehicles with such features to verify through biometric recognition or account login that drivers have completed proper training before allowing continued operation. For combination driving assistance systems, when activated at speeds above 10 km/h, the vehicle must continuously monitor driver engagement using at least two methods: hand-off detection and gaze monitoring.
To prevent distraction, entertainment video playback and gaming functions on dashboard displays must be disabled when the vehicle exceeds 10 km/h.
The proposal further addresses door safety issues that have recently caused accidents. Passenger vehicles must ensure each occupant can exit through at least two different doors. Every door (excluding trunk doors) must be equipped with mechanical release handles both inside and outside. For vehicles with electronic door locking systems, non-impact side doors must automatically unlock when airbags deploy or battery thermal events occur.
Additional regulations cover window specifications, prohibiting mirror-reflective window films and requiring that driver visibility areas maintain at least 70% visible light transmission. Emergency exit windows must use tempered glass no thicker than 5mm and cannot have sun-blocking film applied, ensuring they can be easily broken in emergencies.
The draft is currently in the public consultation phase as part of the national standards revision process.
Editor’s comment
This new regulation is not intended to completely restrict cars from achieving a 0-100 km/h acceleration time under 5 seconds. Rather, it states that the default acceleration time when the vehicle is started cannot exceed five seconds, meaning users can achieve faster acceleration times through additional operations.
For public roads, a 5-second 0-100 km/h acceleration is already sufficiently quick. In recent years, some brands like Xiaomi and Zeekr have achieved success with their rapid acceleration performance. If the new regulation is implemented, some brands will clearly no longer be able to use this as a marketing gimmick.
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