From “valet parking” to “self-driving,” and “one-click summon” to “eyes-off,” China’s auto regulators are pulling the plug on buzzwords in a sweeping effort to rein in marketing hype.
In back-to-back moves this month following a fatal accident involving a Xiaomi electric vehicle, Chinese authorities have targeted marketing practices they say mislead consumers and blur the line between basic driver assistance and true automation.
On April 16, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology summoned representatives from several automakers to a closed-door meeting to spell out new rules. Officials warned against exaggerated claims and emphasized the need to clearly define the limits of smart driving systems.
According to domestic media reports, regulators also said technical jargon — such as LCC (Lane Centering Control), LKA (Lane Keeping Assist), and NOA (Navigate on Autopilot) — must be fully explained in Chinese. They cautioned that vague or inflated language could give drivers a false sense of security.
Days later, on April 21, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers echoed the message in a public statement, urging companies to clearly distinguish between driver assistance and full autonomous driving.
The impact was immediately visible at the Shanghai International Automobile Industry Exhibition, which opened Tuesday. Several companies told domestic media they had rushed to revise promotional materials to comply with the new rules. Many scaled back or scrapped displays focused on smart driving features altogether.
The regulatory shift comes amid heightened public scrutiny following a fatal crash involving a Xiaomi SU7 electric vehicle in eastern China’s Anhui province.
On March 29, the car struck a concrete barrier on a highway at above 90 kilometers per hour, killing all three people on board. Preliminary reports suggest the vehicle was in driver-assistance mode just two seconds before the collision. An official investigation is underway.
In an increasingly crowded market, Chinese automakers have been eager to outpace one another with bold promises about smart driving. In March alone, more than 30 related product launches were held, as brands including BYD, Huawei, Zeekr, IM Motors, and Chery competed to showcase their latest systems.
Many are transitioning from Level 2 to Level 3 autonomy — a technically complex leap that still requires drivers to take control in emergencies.
In the scramble to attract attention, some automakers have stretched the truth. Marketing materials often tout terms like “L2+,” “L2+++,” or even “L2.99999…” — labels that imply near-Level 3 autonomy without the legal or technical backing.
In one case last September, a salesperson for Aito, a brand backed by Huawei’s smart driving tech, took both hands off the wheel during a demonstration, resulting in a traffic accident involving a public bus.
In an April 17 commentary, China’s Ministry of Public Security warned that overreliance on driver-assist features has led some users to sleep, eat, or use phones behind the wheel, in violation of traffic laws. The ministry also warned that companies found guilty of misleading advertising could face fines of five to 10 times their ad spend.
Editor: Apurva.
(Header image: VCG)
