China Issues GB 7258—2026 Vehicle Safety Standard, Effective July 2027

On August 31, the State Administration for Market Regulation (Standardization Administration) approved and issued the mandatory national standard "Safety Specifications for Power-Driven Vehicles Operating on Roads" (GB 7258—2026). The new standard will take effect on July 1, 2027.

The updated standard focuses on four areas: enhancing the intrinsic safety of large and medium buses and trucks, regulating the application of new energy and intelligent driving technologies, improving safety requirements for vehicle registration management, and adding technical requirements to prevent typical vehicle accident risks.

In enhancing the intrinsic safety of large and medium buses and trucks, the standard expands the vehicle categories required to be equipped with automatic emergency braking, electronic stability control, and electronic braking systems. It also adds requirements for tire pressure monitoring and lane departure warning systems to reduce risks such as rollover and brake failure.

Regarding new energy and intelligent driving technologies, the standard regulates the use of single-pedal braking, virtual controls, and in-vehicle entertainment systems, as well as requirements for acceleration performance at start and power cut-off after collision for new energy vehicles. It adds a requirement that new energy passenger vehicles must have a function to suppress unintended acceleration when the pedal is misapplied. Vehicles equipped with combined driving assistance systems must have functions to confirm activation conditions, detect hands-off and eyes-off situations, and identify operational anomalies.

For vehicle registration management, the standard tightens requirements for the marking of vehicle identification numbers and the structure of cargo-carrying parts. It adds requirements for space for affixing enlarged license plate numbers and safety specifications for special-type motor vehicles and wheeled special machinery.

To address issues such as large blind spots, driver fatigue, low seatbelt usage, and poor nighttime visibility, the standard adds requirements for panoramic image monitoring systems or blind spot monitoring systems, and driver attention monitoring systems. It expands the application range of seatbelt reminder devices and adds requirements for reflective markings on three-wheeled cargo motorcycles.