The China Automotive Engineering Research Institute (CAERI) has unveiled a new smart driving pyramid evaluation system, the country's first comprehensive framework on scientifically grading intelligent driving capabilities, providing a multidimensional assessment reference for the industry.
The framework divides smart driving maturity into three levels: safety baseline, comprehensive excellence, and top-tier intelligence.
The safety baseline emphasizes regulatory compliance and international testing standards to ensure fundamental functionality. The comprehensive excellence level evaluates user-friendliness by simulating typical daily driving scenarios across closed testing grounds and open roads. The top-tier intelligence level raises the bar further, testing vehicles under extreme and complex edge cases to measure human-like decision-making ability.
"This system is supported by more than a decade of data from evaluations of over 100 vehicle models. It has filled a gap in China's smart driving industry by providing a graded evaluation system that helps companies improve development while also addressing consumers' difficulties in choosing vehicles," said Li Chaobin, director of the Intelligent Connected Vehicle Evaluation Research Center of the CAERI.
Developed jointly by 14 industry partners, the system has already been applied in product development by multiple Chinese automakers. More than 100 mainstream models have undergone assessment, with average scores improving by over 20 percent compared with that three years ago.
Alongside the evaluation system, CAERI also released two technical roadmaps: the intelligent cockpit testing technology roadmap and the intelligent safety testing technology roadmap. These roadmaps chart a development path for 2026–2030, offering foundational methods for safety testing of intelligent connected vehicles.
"We pioneered the 'Six-Dimensional Safety' model, creating risk matrices for environmental interference, traffic interference, and human-machine interaction, along with a testing framework covering 34 driving scenario," said Wu Chao, deputy chief engineer of the National Intelligent Connected Vehicle Quality Inspection and Testing Center.
Experts believe the roadmaps will guide industry innovation and promote the healthy development of intelligent connected vehicles. For consumers, the system provides greater transparency on safety parameters, helping them make more informed car-buying decisions.
China unveils graded smart driving evaluation system
China unveils graded smart driving evaluation system
