Wan Gang: L3 Autonomous Driving Penetration Expected to Surpass 35% by 2030

Wan Gang, honorary chairman of the Chinese Association for Science and Technology, stated at the opening ceremony of the 2026 World Intelligent Connected Vehicle Conference on October 21 that as costs for new sensing devices and systems decline and large AI models accelerate empowerment, the penetration rate of new passenger cars with L2-level assisted driving functions in China exceeded 70% in the first half of 2026, expected to reach over 95% by 2030. Meanwhile, advanced autonomous driving technologies are accelerating deployment; as of the first half of 2026, 57,000 kilometers of test roads have been opened nationwide, with more than 20,000 test demonstration licenses issued and cumulative test mileage exceeding 220 million kilometers. It is expected that by 2030, the penetration rate of L3-level autonomous driving will surpass 35%. (Caixin Global)