Improving Road Safety Beijing Bans Blue ADAS lights

The blue car lights that recently dominated China's streetscape have been banned. These refer to the slim blue light strips on the exterior of the car body that illuminate when a car's ADAS driver assistance is activated. As of July 27, newly registered car models may no longer feature such lights.

The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) has sent a decree to China's automobile manufacturers stating that the blue lights violate the national lighting standard GB4785, reports the auto portal CNEVPOST. Although there is no official announcement yet, bloggers are sharing screenshots of the decree.

Officially, they are called "Automated Driving System Marker Lamp," also known as ADAS lights in German. The first Chinese manufacturer to install them as standard was Li Auto in its SUV Li L9. Since its market launch in August 2022, more than a dozen Chinese brands have followed suit, including Xpeng, Nio, Xiaomi, BYD, and Aito.

Lights Distract

Originally, this idea came from Stuttgart (Germany). In 2015, Mercedes equipped its concept car F015 with colored exterior lights that could signal various driving modes. Blue indicated autonomous driving. Critics, however, complained that the blue lights were too bright and would distract other drivers. On some models, the blue lights are positioned exactly at the eye level of following drivers. It was said that this was distracting at night and especially in rainy conditions. "Some of these lights are brighter than taillights. Some dazzle the drivers behind and create potential safety risks. This is clearly inappropriate," wrote Ma Lin, Vice President of Nio, on social media.

Misunderstanding Autonomy Level

Another frequent criticism was that other drivers often thought these cars were already fully autonomous. In reality, however, this is still rare in China. Most sold assistance systems are still at "Level 2," where the driver remains fully responsible and must be able to intervene at any time. "Some people become curious when they see the blue light. They intentionally follow the car or try to cut in front of it," the Chinese science portal Zhongguo Keji Wang quotes an expert. The lights thus increase the likelihood of accidents, according to auto expert Zhang Xiang from the North China University of Technology. "The current use of blue indicator lights is excessive and poses potential safety risks," the China Automotive Standardization Research Institute (CASRI) stated on its official WeChat account on July 29, 2026.

Therefore, the national standards committee for the automotive industry has now begun revising the lighting standard GB 4785, CASRI wrote. The current version technically only permits the colors white, red, and yellow. However, blue was not explicitly prohibited until now. For manufacturers, the blue lights were also a marketing gimmick. The misconception that these were already cars with Level 3 ADAS seemed quite welcome. Now, however, everyone pledged to immediately comply with the new directive. "We have taken note of the reports. We will strictly adhere to the relevant national regulations and await further guidance from the authorities," Geely wrote.

At Epicland, the new car brand by Dongfeng and Huawei, they went even further. "As soon as we received this urgent notification, our team immediately took action and implemented the required measures in accordance with national regulations," wrote CEO Zeng Qinglin.

Recognizing the Disadvantages of New Technologies in Everyday Life

Indirectly, this debate about the "small blue lights," as they are called in China, is a sign of how quickly autonomous driving is currently spreading in China. The MIIT expects higher automation levels to be commercially deployed on a large scale by 2030 at the latest. Navigation-based assistance in urban traffic will then become standard equipment in new cars.

That a period of "unchecked growth" is tolerated in the automotive industry before regulations are eventually tightened is a fairly common pattern in China. Features like recessed door handles, one-pedal driving, highly unconventional steering wheels, and gear shifting via touchscreens were allowed to spread unchecked for years before regulatory authorities intervened. In most cases, certain disadvantages of the new technologies were only noticed during everyday use.

Blue exterior lights are also being discussed in other countries. For example, vehicle regulation working groups at the United Nations are addressing the issue. A consensus has not yet been reached.

In China, it is generally expected that many manufacturers will initially deactivate the blue ADAS lights remotely through over-the-air software updates (OTA). Once Level 3 autonomy vehicles hit the market, they may legally return. 

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