05:46 30-07-2026

Blue ADAS lights in China: new models risk failing certification

Chinese testing bodies are told to reject passenger cars with blue driver-assistance lamps. GB 4785 permits only white, yellow, amber and red, while owners of cars already sold face no action for now.

Owners of Li Auto, Nio, Xpeng, Aito and other Chinese cars do not need to switch off the blue driver-assistance indicators themselves just yet. The issue is mainly about the certification of new models: so far China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has published no document setting rules for cars that have already been sold.

According to Chinese industry media, testing organisations are to stop accepting passenger cars with external blue lamps for approval. The restriction is linked to the filings for the next, 410th series of the state vehicle catalogue, yet the 408th remains the latest one officially published, and no text of supplementary requirements for the 410th is available publicly. Geely told Yicai it is aware of the new requirements and will comply with state rules, while Changan confirmed the information to Red Star Capital.

These lamps sit in the exterior mirrors and at the front or the rear of the body. They light up as soon as a navigation assistant or another advanced system is engaged, telling everyone around that part of the driving is being handled by electronics. There is no single approach: the number of lamps, their placement, brightness and activation conditions differ from model to model.

The first mass-produced car with such an indicator was the Li Auto L9: deliveries began in August 2022, and the body carried five blue lamps at once. Aito, Nio, Xpeng, BYD, Geely and other brands followed, and on the 2026 model year Li Auto L9 it is the “Starry Ring” light strip that turns blue. By the first half of 2026 China had more than 755,000 cars fitted with automated-driving indicators, a fitment rate of 7.1%, ten times higher than a year earlier.

The reason for the possible restriction is not a ban on ADAS as such. China applies the mandatory standard GB 4785-2019, which governs the installation of external lighting and light-signalling devices. It came into force on 1 July 2020 and remains officially valid. Its list of permitted colours for exterior lamps has just four entries: white, yellow, amber and red. Blue is not on it, nor is the category “automated driving indicator” itself, and lighting approval in China follows the principle that “whatever is not expressly permitted is forbidden”. Hence the grey area in which these lamps have lived for several years.

The idea of showing autopilot status to the outside world did not come from China. In 2019 the American SAE published the advisory standard J3134, which proposed a turquoise signal for cars running in automated mode. In September 2021 MIIT put forward a draft standard on light-signalling devices that made an ADS lamp mandatory for vehicles of Level 3 and above, spelling out its colour, number, mounting positions and brightness. None of that reached the final GB 5920-2024, in force since 1 July 2025. In other words, no current standard describes or legalises the blue indicator.

GB 4785 is set for revision all the same. On 28 April 2026 the standard passed a scheduled review with the conclusion “revise”; the projected work period is 16 months and the document is at draft stage. The listed drafters include the Shanghai vehicle certification centre, the CATARC research centre, BYD, the company Yinwang (the automotive arm spun off from Huawei) and the SAIC Volkswagen joint venture. The project record does not say whether dedicated automated-driving indicators will return to the text, or which colour would be allowed, but the automotive standardisation committee has stated that clauses on ADS lamps were discussed in the draft.

This work should not be confused with the new GB 47955-2026 standard for combined driver-assistance systems. It was approved on 27 June and takes effect on 1 January 2027, setting requirements for how the assistants operate, how the driver is monitored, how data is recorded and how the user is informed. It contains no separate authorisation for blue exterior lamps. The scale of the subject is considerable: according to MIIT, combined assistants are fitted to 70% of new passenger cars in China in 2026, and NOA navigation assistance to more than 30%.

For new models the consequence is clear: manufacturers will have to change the colour of the lamps, disable the function or remove the light elements before certification. The first to be affected are cars that have not yet been published in the catalogue and are only being prepared for testing, along with applications to modify or extend versions that are already approved.

Cars already built are a harder case. Sources say the regulator is only studying the options, so it is too early to talk about a mandatory recall or a shutdown. Technically, some cars can be brought into line with a software update if the colour comes from multi-colour LEDs. Where separate blue elements are installed, they will have to be deactivated or replaced. Either way the fix has to come from the manufacturer: unauthorised work on the wiring can trigger lighting faults and affect the warranty.

The argument about the blue lights has been running for a while. Critics say the lamps dazzle and distract at night and are sometimes mistaken for turn signals; some drivers complain that other cars cut them off more often when the indicator is on. Another argument is the temptation to treat the lamp as a shield against liability and pay less attention to the road. Supporters counter that the signal is useful to everyone around, because it honestly shows which mode the car is in.

The indicator on its own does not confirm a full autopilot. Most such models use Level 2 systems, in which the driver keeps watching the road and remains responsible for controlling the car. The new Chinese standard also defines a combined assistant as a system that works under continuous driver supervision.

Until an official MIIT clarification appears, it is more accurate to speak of restrictions being prepared for newly certified models rather than a ban already in force for every car in China.