Chinese authorities have banned automakers from using terms such as "smart driving" and "autonomous driving" for ads in the country, according to Reuters. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has tightened its rules for advertising driving assistance features following a fatal crash involving a Xiaomi SUV7 (pictured above), which raised concerns about the technology's safety. Based on Xiaomi's report, the vehicle's driving assistance mode was switched on when the vehicle was approaching a construction zone, but the driver took control right before the SUV collided with a concrete barrier. The electric vehicle went up in flames, with the accident claiming three lives. Back in 2022, the California DMV accused Tesla of falsely portraying its vehicles as fully autonomous based on the language it used on its website, though that didn't lead to a ban on advertising terms. Chinese authorities announced the new rule at a meeting attended by 60 representatives from the automobile industry.

I recently chaired a UJA Tech Talk on "The Future Of Autonomous Cars" with former General Motors Vice-Chairman Steve Girsky. The auto executive enthusiastically shared his vision for the next 15-25 years of driving – a congestion-free world of automated wheeled capsules zipping commuters to and from work. Girsky stated that connected cars with safety assist (autonomy-lite) features are moving much faster toward mass adoption than fully autonomous vehicles (sans steering wheels and pedals). In his opinion, the largest roadblocks toward a consumer-ready robocar are the current technical inefficiencies of prototypes on the road today, which burn huge amounts of energy supporting enhanced computing and arrays of sensors. This makes the sticker price closer to a 1972 Ferrari than a 2018 Prius.