China has launched a nationwide, one-year campaign to improve the quality and production conformity of road motor vehicles, with regulators placing greater emphasis on intelligent connected vehicle safety, manufacturers’ development capabilities and compliance with approved product specifications.
The campaign was announced jointly by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), Ministry of Public Security, Ministry of Ecology and Environment, and State Administration for Market Regulation on Thursday, according to state broadcaster CCTV.
Intelligent Vehicle Safety Under Review
Inspections under the campaign will focus on intelligent connected vehicle safety capabilities, automakers’ design, development and production capabilities, and whether vehicles remain consistent with approved specifications.
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The campaign brings existing inspections of manufacturers, vehicles and testing organizations into a broader nationwide, cross-agency effort.
CCTV did not provide additional details, and the full text of the joint notice has not yet been released.
Existing Production Inspections Intensified
The new campaign builds on MIIT’s annual production conformity inspection program, which began in May.
The program covers road motor vehicle manufacturers and products that have received market-access approval. Inspectors can select sample vehicles and key components at factories and dealerships, seal their hardware and software configurations, and send them to testing organizations.
Testing can include vehicle structure, crash safety, electric vehicle safety and traction battery-pack safety. Some samples can also undergo additional cross-checks.
Manufacturers that fail to continuously meet market-access requirements or whose products do not comply with national standards can face public disclosure, suspension of affected products from MIIT’s catalog or restrictions on filing new products.
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Automakers are also prohibited from improperly changing sealed vehicle technical parameters through over-the-air (OTA) updates after samples have been secured for testing.
Automakers Face On-Site Testing
In July, MIIT carried out inspections at factories operated by GAC Aion, Xpeng, Nio, Chery and JAC.
Inspectors selected vehicle and power battery samples at the facilities and sent them to testing organizations for compliance assessments against national standards.
The inspections come as Chinese automakers introduce increasingly sophisticated driver-assistance and autonomous-driving technologies into production vehicles.
At a meeting on August 4, MIIT called on testing organizations to strengthen risk identification and validation for what regulators described as “aggressive” innovative designs.
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Regulators also called for stronger safety assessments covering combined driving-assistance and autonomous-driving functions.
Autonomous Driving Faces Greater Scrutiny
The latest campaign follows growing regulatory attention on the safety of intelligent driving systems.
MIIT Vice Minister Xin Guobin said one day before the campaign was announced that some aggressive vehicle designs had been introduced without sufficient testing and validation. He also pointed to isolated vehicle quality and autonomous-driving safety incidents that had raised public concern.
MIIT plans to strengthen market-access reviews and testing and validation management for innovative automotive designs while increasing production conformity inspections.
Recalls Highlight Design Risks
The campaign follows a wave of recalls involving more than 7 million vehicles announced by Chinese regulators one week earlier.
Most of the reported defects involved interior emergency mechanical door-release handles that were difficult to identify, illustrating how design decisions can create safety concerns after vehicles enter mass production.
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The broader regulatory effort comes as China seeks to strengthen quality control while its automotive industry rapidly adopts electric powertrains, connected vehicle technology, advanced driver assistance and autonomous driving.
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China is also establishing a clearer legal and technical framework for autonomous driving.
A draft revision to the Road Traffic Safety Law would make automakers responsible for handling traffic violations committed while fully autonomous driving functions are activated.
Mandatory safety standards for autonomous driving systems are scheduled to take effect on July 1, 2027.
Together with the new quality campaign and existing production inspections, the measures indicate a broader effort by Chinese regulators to strengthen product safety, testing and accountability as intelligent connected and new energy vehicles become more widespread.