The first mandatory national standard in the field of automotive driver assistance systems has been published. From 2028, all light vehicles must be equipped with AEB as standard.

On January 28, according to CCTV News, the first mandatory national standard in the field of automotive driving assistance systems, the mandatory national standard "Technical Requirements and Test Methods for Advanced Emergency Braking System of Light-Duty Vehicles" (GB 39901—2025), will be officially implemented on January 1, 2028.

On December 31, 2025, the mandatory national standard "Technical Requirements and Test Methods for Advanced Emergency Braking Systems of Light-Duty Vehicles" (GB 39901-2025), organized and revised by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, was approved and issued by the State Administration for Market Regulation and the Standardization Administration of China, and will officially take effect on January 1, 2028. This standard was revised from the recommended national standard GB/T 39901-2021 "Performance Requirements and Test Methods for Advanced Emergency Braking Systems (AEBS) of Passenger Cars." It is China's first mandatory national standard in the field of automotive driving assistance systems, marking the transition of advanced emergency braking systems for light-duty vehicles from "optional" to "standard equipment," with a unified and standardized safety performance baseline.

The Automatic Emergency Braking System (hereinafter referred to as the "AEB system") refers to a system capable of monitoring the driving environment ahead of the vehicle in real time, issuing warning signals when a collision risk may occur, and automatically activating the vehicle's service braking system to decelerate the vehicle, so as to avoid a collision or mitigate the consequences of a collision. Relevant data show that by 2025, the installation rate of AEB systems in new passenger cars in China has exceeded 60%. After a certain period of technological iteration and validation through practical application, the AEB system can, in specific scenarios, assist the driver in avoiding a collision or mitigating collision harm by actively executing emergency braking through the vehicle, and can play a positive and significant safety role in common risk situations such as the sudden deceleration of a vehicle ahead and pedestrians, bicycles, or motorcycles crossing the road. The release and implementation of this standard will help promote the innovative development and large-scale application of driving assistance technologies, enhance the level of road traffic safety in China, and provide a strong safeguard for people's lives and property.

The new standard covers light trucks. Building on the existing regulation of M1 category passenger vehicles (sedans, SUVs, MPVs, etc.), it brings N1 category light goods vehicles (pickups, mini trucks, etc. with a gross vehicle weight of ≤3.5 tonnes) under regulation for the first time, expanding coverage by approximately 30%.

In addition, the new standard focuses on vulnerable road users: it adds identification assessments for three types of targets—pedestrians, bicycles, and mopeds—and specifies that within the speed range of 20-60 km/h, the system must provide warning and braking responses to vulnerable road users crossing the road.