MIIT and SAMR Further Strengthening the Administration of Automobile Product Admission, Recall, and OTA Software Upgrade for Intelligent and Connected Vehicles

On 25 February 2025, the PRC Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (“MIIT”) and the State Administration for Market Regulation (“SAMR”) jointly issued the Notice on Further Strengthening the Administration of Automobile Product Admission, Recall, and Over-The-Air Software Upgrade for Intelligent and Connected Vehicles (Gong Xing Bu Lian Tong Zhuang [2025] No. 45, “Notice”). The purpose of this Notice is to enhance the administration of product admission and recall for Intelligent and Connected Vehicle (“ICV”) products equipped with Combined Driver Assistance Systems (“CDAS”) and Over-The-Air (“OTA”) upgrade functions. It also aims to regulate OTA upgrade activities of ICV manufacturers.

Definitions of Technical Terms:

The Notice itself does not define certain technical terms, especially “ICV” and “CDAS”. They have the following meaning according to the respectively applicable PRC National Standards (GB).

“ICV” (in Chinese: 智能网联汽车): according to the Intelligent and Connected Vehicle-Terms and Definitions (GB/T 44373-2024), ICV refers to vehicles that possess capabilities of environmental awareness, intelligent decision-making and automatic control, interaction with external information, and even cooperative control functions.

“CDAS” (in Chinese: 组合驾驶辅助系统): according to the Taxonomy of Driving Automation for Vehicles (GB/T 40429-2021), CDAS can continuously perform vehicle lateral or longitudinal motion control in the dynamic driving tasks under its designed operating conditions. It has the ability to detect and respond to some targets and events that are appropriate for the vehicle lateral or longitudinal motion control it performs. CDAS is also known as L2 driving automation system.

1.   Overview on the Notice

The Notice addresses the following key issues:

•   Enhance ICV manufacturers' responsibility for product quality and safety

ICV manufacturers shall proactively fulfill their responsibilities for product quality and safety, strengthen their capacity for research, development, and production of ICV products as well as OTA upgrade activities. They shall carry out sufficient testing and verification of ICV products and OTA upgrade activities, specify system boundaries and security response measures so as to effectively improve product quality safety.

•   Refine product admission and recall administration requirements

Technical parameters related to CDAS and OTA upgrade shall be added to the main technical parameters table of automobile products. They shall be incorporated into the MIIT administration on product admission and production consistency and be filed with SAMR.

Please refer to the below item 2 a) for details.

•   Deepen sandbox supervision of automobile products

“Sandbox supervision” normally refers to, in the PRC administrative practice, tolerant and prudent regulatory measures on enterprises within a pre-defined group (box), e.g., ICV manufacturers. Any problems should be prevented from spreading to outside of such group. Thus, sandbox supervision is a mechanism of mistake tolerance and correction within a controllable group where regulatory departments supervise the whole operation process in order to ensure the safety of testing and to make a final evaluation.

ICV manufacturers shall promptly submit to SAMR an in-depth testing plan, quality and safety risk assessment plan, and preliminary test report for the relevant CDAS after they obtain a respective product permit such as a Permit for Road Motor Vehicle Manufacturing Enterprise and Product Admission. SAMR will then deepen the sandbox supervision on automotive safety by guiding the manufacturers to conduct in-depth testing, identifying safety issues, perfecting technical standards, etc. in order to improve the safe performance of CDAS.

•   Establish mechanisms for events and accidents reporting and evaluation

ICV manufacturers shall report certain types of accidents and events concerning ICV equipped with CDAS upon learning of the occurrence of such accidents and events.

Please refer to the below item 2 b) for details.

•   Enhance certification services and administration

MIIT and SAMR encourage the construction of a quality certification system for ICV. Voluntary certification shall be promoted in the areas such as data security, network security, functional safety, and expected functional safety of CDAS. Based on the status of the formulation and revision of ICV standards, relevant mandatory national standards shall be incorporated in the compulsory product certification of automobile products in a timely manner.

•   Strengthen the supervision and administration of OTA upgrade activities

ICV manufacturers shall duly file for recordal their OTA upgrade activities to MIIT (via the Online Automobile Software Upgrade Filing System of MIIT: 软件升级管理平台) and to SAMR (via the ICV Safety Big Data Cloud Platform which is likely: 国家汽车产品召回综合管理信息系统). They must ensure that their ICV products after OTA upgrade comply with laws, regulations, technical standards, technical specifications, and other relevant requirements. SAMR will evaluate record-filings and inspect OTA upgrade methods to prevent ICV manufactures from concealing vehicle defects or evading responsibilities through OTA upgrades.

Please refer to the below item 2 c) for details.

2.   Key Aspects of the Notice

The following are some key aspects of the Notice that are worth attention by ICV manufacturers.

a)     CDAS and OTA upgrade related technical parameters

The Notice requires that additional technical parameters related to CDAS and OTA upgrade as listed in Annex 2 of the Notice (“Additional Technical Parameters”) shall be incorporated into the main technical parameters of ICV (“Main Technical Parameters”). The Additional Technical Parameters include parameters related to perceptual localisation, CDAS, driving assistance function, parking assistance function, human-computer interaction, intelligent driving operating system, emergency assistance function, and OTA upgrade information, etc.

The expansion of the Main Technical Parameters with the Additional Technical Parameters follows the purpose to enhance the governmental administration on ICV product admission and recall. Thus, the Notice has added additional requirements for ICV manufacturers in terms of the access and recall of their ICV products.

(1)   ICV product admission

Article 8 of the Administrative Measures on Admission of Road Motor Vehicle Manufacturing Enterprises and Products (“Admission Measures”) stipulates that an applicant seeking admission for road motor vehicle products shall submit the Main Technical Parameters of such products to MIIT. The same requirement also exists for new energy vehicles (“NEV”).

The Notice details that ICV manufacturers applying for admission of ICV products equipped with CDAS and OTA upgrade functions shall timely submit three categories of materials to MIIT in addition to those required to be submitted in accordance with the Admission Measures. Such additional categories are as follows.

(a)    ICV manufacturers shall completely and accurately fill in the Main Technical Parameters of their ICV products, including the Additional Technical Parameters;

(b)    They shall submit relevant verification materials, such as testing reports, if functions and performance of their products are concerned; and

(c)    They shall further submit a letter of commitment to promise (i) that they have completely and accurately filled in the relevant technical parameters to ensure their consistency with the actual products and their functions and performance and (ii) that any submitted verification materials are truthful, valid, and sufficient.

For already admitted ICVs, their manufacturers shall supplement and submit the Additional Technical Parameters and verification materials to MIIT and SAMR before 1 June 2025. We accordingly recommend that ICV manufacturers should timely contact their counterparts at MIIT and SAMR for submitting any additionally required technical parameters and materials for their existing ICV products admitted before 25 February 2025 on which the Notice became effective.

(2)   ICV product recall

Article 10 of the Administrative Regulations on the Recall of Defective automobile Products and Article 11 of the Implementing Measures for the Administrative Regulation on the Recall of Defective Automobile Products (jointly as “Recall Provisions”) stipulates that automotive manufacturers shall submit the technical parameters of automobile products to SAMR for recordal.

Thus, ICV manufacturers shall submit the technical parameters of their ICV products including the Additional Technical Parameters to SAMR as also required from the recall legislation perspective.

Concerning the recall of defective ICV products, Annex 1 of the Notice, i.e., ICV Product Admission, Recall, and OTA Upgrade Administration and Technical Guidelines emphasizes that ICV manufacturers shall:

(a)    Improve the safety and recall management system of ICVs equipped with CDAS and establish a management mechanism for defect information collection, investigation and analysis, recall decision-making and implementation;

(b)    Establish an emergency management mechanism and have the ability to deal with security emergencies in a timely manner;

(c)    Improve the technical level of recall professionals, and improve the ability of defect technical analysis and evaluation; and

(d)    Establish a product traceability system for ICVs to improve the efficiency and completion rate of recall implementation.

b)     Reporting obligations for ICV-related events and accident

Also new under the Notice are ICV-related reporting obligations of ICV manufacturers if they become aware of (i) any events in which, for instance, there is an exit of functions due to failure of CDAS (“Events”) or (ii) any accidents, such as collisions, involving an ICV equipped with CDAS (“Accidents”).

Before the effectiveness of the Notice on 25 February 2025, there have already been certain reporting obligations of automobile manufacturers under PRC law. For example, according to the Recall Provisions, automobile manufacturers are obliged to report their investigation and analysis results regarding potential defects to SAMR. Furthermore, automobile manufacturers are obliged to report when they become aware of any smoke or fire incidents involving NEVs that they manufacture, sell, or import in the Chinese market.

Compared to the existing, general reporting obligations of automobile manufacturers as mentioned above for example, the new ICV-related reporting obligations in the Notice are specifically applicable for ICV equipped with CDAS.

Reports on events and accidents shall both be submitted to, respectively, MIIT (via: https://dlxdcxt.miit.gov.cn/icvsd/) and SAMR (via: [email protected]).

(1)   Accident reports

Definitions: According to Annex 3 of the Notice – Main Content of ICV Products-Related Event and Accident Reports (“Annex 3”), Accidents refer to those, such as collisions, that happen during the use of CDAS. Accidents include but are not limited to deployment of air bags, deployment of irreversible occupant restraint devices or vulnerable road user assistance safety systems, personal injury or death.

Reporting deadline: ICV manufacturers shall submit information of an Accident and report within 48 hours after such Accident occurs. In case an Accident causes personal injury or death, or has a significant social impact, the report shall be submitted within 24 hours after the Accident occurs.

Content of reporting: An Accident report shall include

•   Basic Accident information (time, venue, status of casualties, description of Accident, etc.),

•   Basic vehicle information (manufacturer, type, model, VIN, Accident-related risk mitigation strategy, sensing and positioning system, CDAS, EDR records, recall and repair records, etc.),

•   Detailed Accident information (status of CDAS at the Accident, surveillance videos and photos of the accident scene and accident vehicles, dashcam records, ECE information, traffic and whether, preliminary cause conclusion, etc.), and

•   Accident cause and planned remedial measures (relevance between an Accident and CDAS operation, cause analysis, planned remedial measures, etc.).

(2)   Event reports

Definitions: According to Annex 3, Events are descriptions of safety-related driving behaviors and situations that occur in ICVs during the use of the CDAS.

Reporting deadlines: ICV manufacturers shall submit

•   A quarterly report for the previous quarter within the first 15 working days of every April, July and October, and

•   An annual report for the previous year within the first 15 working days of every January.

Content of reporting: An Event report shall include

•   Basic information (number of ICV equipped with CDAS, total operating time of activated CDAS; total mileage under activated CDAS, etc.), and

•   Event information (activation of the risk mitigation function is activated, automatic exit of the system or its functions due to detected system failure or exceeded system boundary, other events related to product safety assessment).

In our view, the Notice including its Annex 3 is not entirely clear on issues like, e.g., the concrete format of an Accident / Even report, to which extent the above-listed reporting content needs to be specified or detailed, whether an Event report shall still be submitted strictly on a quarterly and / or yearly basis regardless of the actual occurrence of any safety-related driving behavior or situation. We, therefore, expect that MIIT and SAMR will roll out implementing rules or guiding materials to help ICV manufacturers better understand how to duly perform their reporting obligations.

c)      Strengthen the administration on OTA upgrade activities

According to the Notice, the administration on OTA upgrade activities shall be enhanced by categorising the upgrade activities into four scenarios.

(1)    For OTA upgrade activities that do not involve changes to the main technical parameters of a product, ICV manufacturers may proceed with the upgrade upon completing the required recordal filing.

(2)    For OTA upgrade activities involving changes to the main technical parameters, ICV manufacturers shall obtain a product change permit and complete the recordal filing before implementing the upgrade.

(3)    For OTA upgrade activities related to autonomous driving functions, ICV manufacturers shall obtain a required permit according to the Admission Measures and applicable provisions.

(4)    If an ICV manufacturer plans to carry out an OTA upgrade to eliminate product defects or implement a recall, it shall carry out such activities according to the Recall Provisions and immediately cease the production and sale of the defective ICV products. If the defect rectification measures involve changes to the primary technical parameters, the manufacturer can resume production of the relevant ICV products only after having obtained a corresponding product change permit.

In terms of consumer and data protection, the Notice also requires that ICV manufacturers shall establish a mechanism to inform ICV users of OTA upgrades. They shall clearly communicate to the users the purpose of OTA upgrade, any changes occurring before and after the upgrade, the estimated duration of the upgrade, and any functions that will be unavailable during the upgrade period. A confirmation from vehicle users shall be obtained prior to implementing any OTA upgrade. After the upgrade is completed, ICV manufacturers shall inform vehicle users of the results of the upgrade.

3.   Legal consequences of violating the Notice

The Notice does not stipulate any legal consequences for ICV manufacturers, if they violate any statutory requirements under the Notice. Therefore, general provisions under PRC law in relation to automobile product admission, recall, and other related matters should apply. For instance, without limitation:

•   Administrative warning: for concealing relevant information, providing false information, refusing to accept supervision and inspection by MIIT departments (according to the Admission Measures)

•   Correction order; or in case of continued incompliance, fines from RMB 500,000 up to RMB 1,000,000, confiscation of illegal gains; license revocation in severe cases: for failure in cooperating with SAMR departments in conducting defect investigations (according to the Recall Provisions)

•   Correction order; or in case of continued incompliance, fines from RMB 50,000 to RMB 200,000: for failure in filing information recordal or recall plans (according to the Recall Provisions)

•   Correction order; or in case of continued incompliance, fines from RMB 10,000 to RMB 30,000: for failure to update recordal-filed information, failure to duly submit investigation results or failure to duly publicise defect product information and recall information (according to the Recall Provisions)

4.   Recommendations

Although the Notice is comparatively detailed in relation to ICVs equipped with CDAS and OTA update functions, there are still many uncertainties on the practical implementation of the Notice. For instance, it is not fully clear which system the “ICV Safety Big Data Cloud Platform” refers to for filing for recordal OTA upgrade activities to SAMR. Also, the Notice does not touch upon the practical procedures and any concrete format requirements of Accident and Event reports and whether an Event report shall be submitted regularly regardless of the occurrence of an Event.

Considering the above-mentioned uncertainties, we expect that MIIT and SAMR will further issue practical guidelines or rules to facilitate the implementation of the Notice. Automobile and ICV manufacturers should meanwhile initiate conversations with the competent departments of MIIT and SAMR to get familiar with their obligations under the Notice and seek more guidance. They should especially start to set up an internal reporting mechanism to effectively fulfill their ICV-related reporting obligations and to avoid any incompliance.