On December 23, the Traffic Management Bureau under the Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau took a groundbreaking step by officially issuing the inaugural batch of special license plates for L3-level autonomous vehicles intended for highway use in China. These plates were bestowed upon three intelligent connected vehicles, heralding China's autonomous vehicle sector's transition from the experimental and demonstration phase to full-fledged mass production. This pivotal move not only ushers in the L3-level autonomous driving era but also stands as a monumental milestone in the journey towards automotive intelligence.

The three lucky recipients of these license plates are BAIC Arcfox models, bearing the distinctive plate numbers JING AA0001Z, JING AA0733Z, and JING AA0880Z. These vehicles have successfully navigated through a battery of preliminary tests and are now in the conditional autonomous driving phase. They are engineered to execute dynamic driving tasks under specific conditions, achieving autonomous driving capabilities at speeds up to 80 km/h on highways and urban expressways, all within the confines of a single lane.

The traffic management authorities have underscored that, despite the vehicles being outfitted with autonomous driving capabilities on designated roads, the driver is mandated to remain seated in the driver's seat, ready to assume control in the event of an emergency. Presently, this autonomous driving function is operational solely on select segments of the Beijing-Taipei Expressway within Beijing (spanning from Jiugongxin Bridge in Daxing District to the Airport North Line Expressway), the Airport North Line Expressway (extending from Daqu South Bridge to Daxing Airport Expressway), and the Daxing Airport Expressway (from the South Sixth Ring Road to the Airport North Line Expressway). The system is designed to automatically disable this function on any other roads or areas.