Following extensive system-level validation – supported by more than 5 million kilometers of real-world road testing – Changan Automobile has been granted Level 3 autonomous driving product access approval as part of China’s first batch, allowing one of its passenger vehicles to operate single-lane automated driving on specified highway and urban expressway sections in Southwest China’s Chongqing.
Testing covered a broad range of driving scenarios, spanning 185 categories – 49% beyond regulatory benchmarks – with extreme conditions accounting for 36% of total testing. On average, one complex risk scenario was encountered every 38.9km, demonstrating the system’s ability to operate safely and adaptively within its ODC (operational design conditions).
Changan is one of the first two OEMs to receive Level 3 product access in China. The company says that by leveraging its in-house autonomous driving capabilities and its SDA (software defined architecture) intelligence technology framework, Changan has built experience and implementation know-how spanning system design and development, testing and validation, production and operations, and continuous iteration.
Under the SDA intelligence Level 3 program, Changan emphasizes a full-lifecycle, closed-loop safety system designed to safeguard Level 3 operation from development through real-world use. This safety ‘fortress’ is structured across dedicated integration and development processes, multipillar validation, end-to-end quality management, always-on safety monitoring and coordinated risk and incident response mechanisms – forming a continuous feedback loop to enhance safety performance.
To demonstrate safety at an engineering level, Changan has established an integrated development and validation approach for Level 3 autonomous driving that embeds safety requirements across system design, testing and operation. The framework addresses four core areas – functional safety, SOTIF (safety of the intended functionality), cybersecurity and data security – ensuring that automated driving functions are designed and verified with clearly defined boundaries.
Validation is supported by a combination of large-scale simulation, closed-course testing, real-world road testing, data-driven feedback loops and continuous safety monitoring. These efforts are underpinned by national-level intelligent vehicle safety research facilities and dedicated intelligent driving laboratories, providing comprehensive verification coverage from development to on-road deployment.
For operational safety, Changan operates a monitoring platform that has run stably for 18 months, with reported data accuracy maintained at 100% and a 100% success rate in issuing safety warnings. The platform conducts continuous, 24/7 cloud-based analysis of cybersecurity and vehicle operating risks, enabling real-time monitoring, early risk alerts and coordinated response during on-road operation, ensuring that Level 3 functions remain within their defined operating conditions when deployed.
According to the company, it has invested more than CNY 60 billion in R&D over the past three years. Its global R&D network covering six countries and 10 locations is supported by an R&D team of more than 24,000 professionals from 31 countries, 44 technology research and product development centers, 20 technology companies and 180 laboratories.
The June 2025 edition of ATTI carries a feature on cybersecurity strategies
In June 2024, ATTI explored data security in connected vehicles