An announcement on July 29 sparked widespread industry discussion regarding the potential ban of blue indicator lights used for smart driving features.

That evening, the China Automotive Standardization Research Institute issued an official response, stating that the current use of these "small blue lights" has led to light abuse and poses safety risks. The National Technical Committee of Auto Standardization has initiated relevant standard revisions.

These blue lights, installed on the exterior of some vehicles, are designed to signal to other road users that the vehicle's driver assistance system is active. This design concept first emerged in 2015 when Mercedes-Benz showcased the idea on its F015 autonomous concept car, using lights to communicate the vehicle's status to pedestrians. In 2019, the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) issued the J3134 recommended practice, suggesting autonomous vehicles use blue-green lights to distinguish themselves from conventional cars.

Domestically, in August 2022, Li Auto first mass-produced this blue light on its L9 model. Subsequently, brands like XPeng, NIO Inc., AITO, and Xiaomi followed suit, expanding its use from flagship models to a wider range of vehicles from manufacturers including Li Auto, XPeng, NIO Inc., AITO, BYD, Xiaomi, and Geely.

Controversy has followed this adoption. The China Automotive Standardization Research Institute, in its July 29 response, identified two primary issues: the blue lights, when illuminated at night, can cause glare for other road users, appearing "harsh to the eye" and interfering with surrounding drivers' ability to assess road conditions; and vehicles with these indicators are more susceptible to being cut off or tailgated by other drivers, increasing on-road risks.

From a regulatory perspective, the current mandatory national standard GB 4785—2019, which governs the installation of external lighting and light-signaling devices on motor vehicles and trailers, does not include blue or blue-green in the conventional color range for external signal lights. It also does not list "smart driving external indicator lights" as a separate lighting category. The Institute stated that while current standards do not explicitly prohibit the use of these lights, in principle, external lighting and signal devices not defined by the standard should not be used.

Previous attempts were made to establish a specification for this device. In September 2021, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) released a draft for comment on "Light Signaling Devices and Systems for Motor Vehicles and Trailers," which included an appendix suggesting that vehicles with L3-level or higher autonomous driving should be equipped with an ADS indicator light, specifying a blue-green color. However, this provision was removed from the final standard GB 5920-2024, released in September 2024 and effective July 1, 2025. Currently, there is no nationally effective standard that explicitly governs the use of small blue lights on L2-level assisted driving vehicles.

Internationally, the Lighting and Light-Signaling Group and the Autonomous and Connected Vehicles Group under the UN World Forum for Harmonization of Vehicle Regulations (UN/WP.29) are also studying the safety benefits and potential risks of such indicator lights, but a unified conclusion has not yet been reached.

On July 29, several automakers responded. Geely Auto stated, "We are aware of the news and will strictly follow national regulations, awaiting further requirements from the state." Voyah and Avatr also confirmed they were monitoring the situation. However, as of the evening of July 29, the MIIT had not publicly released any formal document outlining supplementary requirements.

Public commentary from industry executives offered different perspectives. Ma Lin, Vice President of NIO Inc., posted on July 29, saying, "Some are brighter than the taillights. Some are glaring for following vehicles, creating safety hazards. These are certainly not appropriate." He also noted, "I checked online but didn't see any explicit (ban) in writing."

Zeng Qinglin, General Manager of Yijing Auto, stated his team had received a related "urgent notice." He analyzed that the core reasons for potentially discontinuing the blue light are twofold: first, the lack of a unified standard for brightness and flashing frequency across different automakers affects traffic safety and causes light pollution; second, some drivers seeing a blue light vehicle will deliberately cut it off or brake-check it to test the limits of the smart driving system. Zeng believed, "Objectively speaking, the capabilities of assisted driving systems vary. For vehicles with strong smart driving capabilities and high safety margins, the blue light serves as intangible brand promotion. But for vehicles with weaker systems, it sometimes becomes a 'roadblock'."

The China Automotive Standardization Research Institute's announcement indicated that the National Technical Committee of Auto Standardization, under the guidance of the competent authority, is carrying out the revision of standard GB 4785 regarding installation requirements for external lighting and light-signaling devices (Plan No. 20262535-Q-339). This work will also strengthen the management of access review and testing verification for "aggressive" product innovation designs.