China News Service, October 20. The State Council Information Office held a press conference on the 20th on the development of industry and information technology in the first three quarters of 2026. Wang Weiming, chief engineer of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, introduced at the meeting that in recent years, thanks to the unity, collaboration and proactiveness of all aspects, my country's automobile industry has been active in technological innovation, product iterations and updates have been rapid, corporate manufacturing capabilities and quality management levels have continued to improve, and the functions and performance of Chinese brand cars have continued to improve. However, it is true that some companies have followed suit and launched new products, with problems such as insufficient testing and verification. In order to further improve the safety and technical performance of automobile products and ensure public safety and the safety of citizens' lives and property, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, together with the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, the State Administration for Market Regulation and other departments, have recently studied and compiled the "Notice on Further Strengthening the Management of Innovative Design and R&D Testing and Verification of Automotive Products", which has been solicited from the public for opinions, focusing on three aspects:
The first is to add relevant technical parameters and consolidate corporate responsibility. The "Notice" clearly requires enterprises to fill in innovative designs such as hidden door handles, electric suction doors, and virtual control parts, as well as relevant technical parameters for R&D testing and verification such as environmental adaptability, and include them in the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology's automotive product access and production consistency management. Automotive products with problems such as failure to declare as required and insufficient testing and verification will not be allowed to enter, and product safety must be maintained.
The second is to strengthen the safety assessment of innovative design of automobile products. Regarding the innovative designs of more than 20 automotive products such as special-shaped steering wheels and virtual control parts, the "Notice" proposes 4 general requirements and 21 specific requirements such as front-end safety risk assessment. The purpose is to urge and guide enterprises to fully evaluate and verify vehicle functional safety, driving safety, control convenience, maintenance economy, etc. Among them, electric suction doors are required to have anti-pinch functions, and the use of "zero-gravity" seats, rotating seats, seats that can be folded into beds, and roof-mounted cockpits are prohibited while the vehicle is in motion to better ensure the safety of consumers.
The third is to fully carry out automotive product R&D, testing and verification. The "Notice" proposes 6 general requirements and 8 specific requirements, including establishing and improving a product R&D testing and verification management system, and upgrades 22 recommended standards and industry standards to mandatory requirements, and urges and guides enterprises to carry out 7 aspects of testing and verification, including comprehensive reliability and durability. Among them, the reliability test verification is not less than 30,000 kilometers, the environmental adaptability test verification period is not less than one year, and includes the "two winters and one summer" test. Automobile manufacturers are required to conduct actual testing and verification of power battery cycle life, durability, etc., and are not allowed to directly accept verification reports from suppliers.
Wang Weiming emphasized that safety is the lifeline and core competitiveness of automobile companies. Any R&D activities must take safety as the first prerequisite and must not sacrifice safety. In the next step, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology will actively study and absorb opinions from all parties, work with relevant departments to speed up the preparation and issuance of the "Notice", speed up the formulation and revision of relevant standards, strengthen supervision and inspection of product production consistency, inspection and testing agency inspections, and resolutely prevent unreasonable innovative designs and products that have not been fully verified by R&D and testing from entering the market through prior access, in-process and post-event supervision and inspection, resolutely guard the bottom line of automotive product safety, effectively safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of consumers, and promote high-quality development of the automotive industry.
