Smart vehicle appraisal guideline unveiled

China Automotive Technology & Research Center unveiled a guideline for smart vehicle appraisal on Friday, which is expected to boost the sector's fast development in the country.

The guideline, called the C-ICAP, covers several parts including driving-assist functions, autonomous driving, smart cabin functions as well as information security.

The center said the part about smart vehicles' driving-assist functions is expected to be implemented from 2023. Other parts are scheduled to be roll out one after another till 2025.

Lu Mei, president of the center, said the guideline, which took three years to compile, will enable the authorities to better supervise the sector and offer car buyers a helping hand in choosing their cars.

Statistics from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology show that 30 percent of new cars sold in the first half of 2022 had Level 2 driving-assist functions.

Liu Yan, deputy secretary-general of the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, said the C-ICAP is the first of its kind in China.

She added that the guideline will also help companies in the sector to speed up their development and facilitate carmakers' communication with car buyers.

Surveys show that 84.5 percent of respondents say the availability of smart functions affects their choices of vehicles.

Edward Wang, managing director of syndicated research at J.D. Power China, said "They are not necessarily buying a model solely for these functions. But they certainly would not buy it if it doesn't have such functions."