On December 25, Yiche News, citing Changan Deepal Motors, reported that as early as December 26 the first batch of the brand’s L3-level autonomous vehicles will officially receive a license and take to public roads. In effect, this marks the transition of the technology from demonstration status to real-world operation.
The key event actually took place on December 20 in Chongqing. A dark-blue vehicle received the first official license plate for L3 autonomous-driving cars, bearing the designation “Chongqing AD0001Z.” The plate was presented to Changan Automobile by the traffic management team under the Chongqing Public Security Bureau. The company calls this moment the start of the region’s “L3 era.”
Changan has been working toward this result for years. Back in 2009, an intelligent R&D team was formed, and seven generations of technology were subsequently developed, with safety remaining the priority. In parallel, the manufacturer built its own Tianshu intelligent system. In 2014, work began on driver-assistance systems; in 2017, development of L3-level autonomous driving was launched; and in 2021, these solutions were planned for use on vehicles in the Deepal lineup. In June 2024, the first batch of L3 systems and road-control systems was released, after which the company joined the ranks of pilot automakers. In February 2025, Changan was the first to complete product testing and safety evaluation, and on December 15 of this year it received official authorization for product access for L3-equipped models, which laid the groundwork for issuing the special plate.
The scale of the checks is emphasized separately: the L3 system was tested on real roads in Chongqing, including complex “8D” routes, totaling more than 5 million km. The set of scenarios included 191 categories—ten times higher than the national standard; the share of extreme situations reached 36%, and for 49% of scene elements the results exceeded the benchmark. At the same time, a result of “zero accidents and zero violations” was recorded.
The “Chongqing AD0001Z” plate will first be installed on dark-blue vehicles. The operating entity is Chongqing Changan Chelian Technology Co., Ltd., which has received permission for pilot road tests on Chongqing’s Inner Ring Expressway, the New Inner Ring (the section from the Gaotanyang interchange to the Laijiaqiao interchange), as well as Yudu Avenue (from the Renhe interchange to the Airport interchange). These highways are heavily loaded every day; traffic jams, frequent on- and off-ramps, higher accident rates, and roadworks are typical here, so they will become the main “exam” for real-world shakedown testing and further updates to the L3 autonomous system (source: news.yiche.com).
