Deal to see mutual recognition of vehicle standards

As Chinese automakers confront complex international standard barriers and compliance challenges, the China Automotive Engineering Research Institute has deepened international cooperation.

At a conference held by CAERI on July 11 in Chongqing, participants underscored that establishing an efficient, trust-based global technical cooperation network is key to systematically reducing compliance costs for automakers expanding overseas. It also lays a solid foundation for high-quality Chinese automobiles to enter the global market.

CAERI signed a cooperation agreement with the Green New Car Assessment Program on Europe-China laboratory testing capability alignment in the green low-carbon sector during the conference.

This collaboration integrates resources from international authoritative evaluation institutions, professional technical service providers, and leading automaker BYD, building a bridge for Chinese vehicles to meet advanced global standards.

Based on cooperation in NEV environmental evaluations, the two sides will achieve international mutual recognition of test results through the systematic alignment of green testing technologies in energy consumption, charging, and emissions.

In the intelligent connected sector, CAERI signed a memorandum with IEEE Intelligent Transportation Systems Society, a global leader in intelligent transport standards and research with expertise in vehicle-to-everything, autonomous driving decision evaluation, and performance testing in complex traffic environments.

Both sides will jointly explore evaluation paradigms for intelligent connected vehicles, accelerating the integration of Chinese standards with international systems and enhancing China's influence in global rulemaking.

Zhou Yulin, chairman of CAERI, said a scientific, fair, and authoritative auto evaluation system is crucial for advancing the intelligent and green transformation of the auto industry and empowering the development of new productive forces.

Such a system can serve as an authoritative guide for consumers, help automakers optimize designs and enhance quality, and support the country in improving standards and regulations, thus guiding industrial innovation and ensuring public safety, Zhou added.

Since initiating systematic research in 2014, CAERI has completed evaluations of around 500 models, forming more than 400 standards and patents.

CAERI's data reflects industry progress; in safety tests, the models with full scores in occupant protection reached 91 percent in 2024, a 50-percentage-point increase from 2019, according to Zhou.

In intelligent assessments, Chinese brands show strong competitiveness, with 90 percent equipping navigation-assisted functions and 88.8 percent featuring memory parking — higher than international auto brands.

In health index, formaldehyde concentration limits in vehicles have been reduced by 25 percent. And the reduction of new energy vehicle ranges under normal and low temperatures has decreased by nearly 10 percent, Zhou said.

The conference also saw CAERI release its latest evaluation systems, covering health, connected intelligence, privacy security, and specialized NEV assessments.

Notably, it revealed the first-ever NEV specialized safety evaluation framework, focusing on daily safety and fire risk prevention with several industry-first testing scenarios.

After a year of assessment by the institute, the latest evaluation results commended models for health index including the Li Auto L6 Pro and Mega, Xiaomi SU7, Aito M9, SAIC Volkswagen Passat, and BYD Song L.

For the intelligent index under the 2023 protocol, standout models included the Li Auto L6 Max, Wey Blue Mountain, Xiaomi SU7, Lynk & Co Z10, and Luxeed S7.