Shenzhen will validate a groundbreaking regulation on the management of intelligent and connected vehicles, the first of its kind in China on August 1.

The regulation stipulates those intelligent connected vehicles listed in the industrial catalog can only be driven on the road after being registered by the traffic management department of the public security organ. Among them, driverless cars can be on road in the areas designated by the traffic administrative department of the municipal public security organ.

An intelligently networked vehicle is a vehicle that can be operated safely on the road by an autonomous driving system instead of a human operation. The intelligent connected automobile has recently become a global innovation hotspot. As the innovation capital, Shenzhen has become a lead on China’s intelligent connected automobile industry. According to statistics, Shenzhen's intelligent connected automobile industry generated a revenue of 106.6 billion yuan ($15.9 billion) in 2021.

The original legal system and supervision for traditional automobiles proves difficult to adapt to industrial development needs. The lawmakers of Shenzhen made full use of the legislative power of the special economic zone, and legislated on the whole chain of the management of intelligent connected vehicles from road testing and registration to use management, traffic violations, and accident handling, and the regulation removes legal obstacles for the development of intelligent connected vehicles.

Notably, the regulation stipulates those enterprises concerned with intelligent connected vehicles shall formulate data security management systems and privacy protection plans and locate their data storage servers in China. It is forbidden to use intelligent connected vehicles to collect illegally, process, or use personal information, information irrelevant to driving and traffic safety of the vehicle, or information involving national security.