On February 25, 2025, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) and the State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) jointly issued the Notice on Further Strengthening the Management of Market Access, Recalls, and Over-the-Air (OTA) Software Updates for Intelligent Connected Vehicle Products. The notice aims to reinforce the regulatory framework for intelligent connected vehicle products (hereinafter referred to as ICV products) equipped with combined driving assistance systems and capable of OTA software upgrades, and to standardize manufacturers’ OTA upgrade practices.
The notice outlines the following key new obligations for manufacturers:
1. Market Access and Recall Management of ICV Products
l Additional Technical Parameters: Manufacturers must supplement the vehicle’s main technical specifications with information related to the combined driving assistance system and OTA upgrade functionality (as detailed in Annex 2 of the notice). These additional parameters will be incorporated into MIIT’s product market access and production conformity management system and must also be filed with SAMR. When applying for market access for ICV products, manufacturers must provide complete and accurate technical data. For features involving product functionality and performance, supporting verification materials such as inspection and test reports must also be submitted. For ICV products that have already received market access, manufacturers must submit the supplementary technical parameters and verification materials to MIIT and SAMR by June 1, 2025.
l Post-Approval Reporting: Once ICV products have obtained production access approvals such as the Road Motor Vehicle Manufacturer and Product Access License, manufacturers must promptly submit documentation to SAMR. This includes deep testing plans for the combined driving assistance system, quality and safety risk assessment plans, and preliminary test reports.
l Incident Reporting: If a manufacturer becomes aware of events such as the failure or deactivation of a combined driving assistance system in ICV products they produce or sell, or of accidents involving such vehicles, they must report these incidents to MIIT and SAMR in accordance with relevant requirements.
2. Over-the-Air (OTA) Software Upgrade Activities
l When conducting OTA upgrade activities, enterprises must file records with both the MIIT and the SAMR in accordance with the relevant requirements.
l For OTA upgrades that do not involve changes to key technical parameters of the product, enterprises may proceed with the upgrade after completing the filing process. While for OTA upgrades that do involve changes to key technical parameters, enterprises must obtain product modification approval and complete the filing before carrying out the upgrade.
l OTA upgrades involving automated driving functions must obtain the appropriate approval in accordance with relevant market access regulations.
This notice takes effect from the date of issuance.
Overseas manufacturers of intelligent connected vehicles equipped with combined driving assistance systems and OTA upgrade capabilities must immediately fulfill the relevant filing, reporting, and supplementary documentation obligations in accordance with the requirements set out in this notice.
The full text (in Chinese) of the regulation can be found at ：https://www.miit.gov.cn/zwgk/zcwj/wjfb/tz/art/2025/art_1f663dddc5ee4754bb833586b2bf0853.html