Chang'an Automobile Targets L3 Autonomous Mass Production by 2027 and L4 by 2028
Zhang Xiaoyu, Chief Scientist of China Chang'an Automobile Group, announced plans to mass-produce Level 3 (L3) autonomous vehicles by 2027 and begin commercial operations for Level 4 (L4) by 2028. This timeline directly aligns with China's upcoming mandatory safety standards for L3/L4 autonomous driving systems, which take effect on July 1, 2027. With L2 driver-assist penetration expected to reach over 66% in China by 2025, automakers are rushing to step up to higher automation levels under a defined regulatory standard. Chang'an executives also project that an industry consolidation around 2028 will leave only five or six dominant autonomous driving solution providers surviving in China. Chang'an has invested over 60 billion RMB into its proprietary 'Tianshu Linghang' autonomous driving technology, backed by a 7,500-person R&D team. The automaker is actively road-testing this technology with external OEMs and expects to deploy it on non-Chang'an vehicles as early as next year.
## BACKGROUND
Autonomous driving levels range from Level 0 (no automation) to Level 5 (full automation). Level 3 allows conditional automation where the vehicle drives itself but requires a human driver to take over when prompted, while Level 4 features high automation capable of handling complex driving scenarios without driver intervention. Additionally, 'Yinwang' (Yinwang Intelligent) is an autonomous driving solution company spun off from Huawei's Intelligent Automotive Solution Business Unit in which Chang'an holds a strategic investment.