Mercedes-Benz said it will drop L3 on the new S-Class and jump directly to L4, judging L3 commercial liability cost too high versus value. In contrast, China is delivering L3-architecture models at scale: the Qijing GX7 equipped with Huawei Qiankun ADS5 and an L3 architecture has passed 4,000 deliveries.
The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology's mandatory autonomous-driving national standard, covering L3 and L4, is set to take effect in July 2027, locking down responsibility division, operational-design domains and data recording. The contrast shows a route collision between the L3 pioneer's retreat and China's "architecture first, responsibility later" gradual approach.
Together with recent tightening on parking-assist testing, smart-driving oversight is clearly moving from promotion to compliance, narrowing the room between marketing claims and future rules.
Source: Cailian Press / Sina Finance
