Stricter controls imposed on marketing of smart driving cars(3)

Toning down claims

In a move that appeared an attempt to tone down the hype, the Huawei alliance issued a notice on April 15 calling for the use of smart driving in a "standardized way".

Nevertheless, the alliance claimed that its system had helped 700,000 vehicles prevent 1.7 million possible accidents.

"Safety is the best luxury," said Yu, head of Huawei's smart car solutions, when he unveiled the alliance's new models in Shanghai the day after the notice was issued.

On April 18, Horizon Robotics, a Chinese smart driving solution provider, also unveiled its latest products in Shanghai.

However, it abandoned descriptions such as "smart driving" and "high-level smarting", and said simply the vehicle had "Level 2 driving-assist solutions".

The change in terminology followed a meeting convened by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology earlier that week. The ministry said in a news release on April 16 that it had instructed automakers to avoid exaggerated or misleading marketing. Carmakers were also told to thoroughly test the driving-assist systems and clearly define their true capabilities.

Companies must also fulfill their duty to fully inform users, ensure production consistency, and take full responsibility for product quality and safety, said the ministry.

A picture of the meeting's minutes, which has been widely circulated on social media, shows much stricter ministry controls.

Among other things, it said carmakers should not use terms such as "autonomous", "smart driving" or "high-level smart driving", "eyes-free", and "hands-free" when they describe their driving-assist functions.

Even "take over" is not allowed, because the term is technically applicable to Level 3, and not Level 2 functions. Instead, the simple term "driving-assist" is recommended.

Also, carmakers were told not to organize large-scale public tests for publicity purposes.

Yu Kai, founder and CEO of Horizon Robotics, said the ministry had done a "great" job. "It is a great, virtuous curb, without which the sector cannot have a healthy and orderly development," he said.