At the end of August 2024, the Standardization Administration of China (SAC) issued three mandatory national standards for the automotive industry:
- GB 44495-2024: Technical Requirements for Vehicle Cybersecurity
- GB 44496-2024: General Technical Requirements for Software Updates of Vehicles
- GB 44497-2024: Intelligent and Connected Vehicles—Data Storage System for Automated Driving
These standards will take effect on January 1, 2026, and will become core technical requirements for automotive products entering the Chinese market.
- GB 44495-2024: Technical Requirements for Vehicle Cybersecurity
With the rapid advancement of vehicle intelligence and connectivity, cybersecurity risks have become increasingly severe for vehicles. Cyberattacks can lead to the leakage of users’ personal information or even the remote hacking of vehicle control systems, posing serious threats to the security of users’ data, property, and lives. These attacks could also endanger societal and national security. Therefore, to address these concerns, China has established this mandatory standard to safeguard vehicle information security.
This standard outlines requirements for automotive cybersecurity management systems, basic cybersecurity measures, external connections, communication and data security, and vehicle type determinations. It also details the relevant inspection and testing methods.
The standard applies to vehicles in categories M and N, as well as category O vehicles equipped with at least one electronic control unit.
- GB 44496-2024: General Technical Requirements for Software Updates of Vehicles
Automotive software upgrades are profoundly transforming the automotive industry, impacting everything from research and development to production and after-sales service. They enable key services such as firmware updates, feature optimization, and vulnerability patches, fueling innovation and development in the automotive sector. However, software updates also present challenges to traditional vehicle management systems and may introduce significant risks to product production consistency. Improper software upgrade procedures also pose serious safety concerns, as some models have experienced cases where users lost control of their vehicles, severely compromising safety and property.
Therefore, China established this mandatory standard to ensure user safety and regulatory compliance. The standard specifies requirements for managing automotive software updates, including vehicle requirements, type approval criteria, and instructions for user manuals. It also outlines the relevant test methods.
The standard applies to M, N, and O category vehicles capable of software updates.
- GB 44497-2024: Intelligent and Connected Vehicles—Data Storage System for Automated Driving
As intelligent connected vehicles with autonomous driving functions gradually become more mature, determining liability and analyzing the causes of traffic accidents has become a key concern for industry regulators, automotive companies, and consumers alike. To address this issue, intelligent connected vehicles with autonomous driving capabilities must be able to accurately and reliably record key data during operation, enabling scene reconstruction in the event of an accident. In this context, China developed this mandatory standard, aiming to provide data support for industry regulation and serve as a technical basis for determining liability and analyzing the causes of accidents involving autonomous vehicles.
This standard sets the technical requirements, testing methods, and type approval criteria for data recording systems in intelligent and connected autonomous vehicles. It applies to M and N category vehicles equipped with such systems.
These three standards, while independently developed by China, were influenced by regulations R155, R156, and R157 issued by the United Nations World Forum for Harmonization of Vehicle Regulations (UN WP29). As a result, automotive manufacturers in the EU should note the potential technical differences between these Chinese standards and those implemented in their own regions. It is advisable to prepare for the enforcement of these mandatory standards in advance.
