[A collaborative piece with SAE China, China Industry Innovation Alliance for the Intelligent & Connected Vehicles (CAICV) and Volkswagen China]

With the rapid development of automotive electrification and mobile internet in China, intelligent vehicle development is leading the automotive industry into a new era. In recent years, various policies and guidelines have been issued domestically and internationally to support the development of intelligent connected vehicles. Cockpit functionality has emerged as a key focus area for automakers, driving significant R&D investment as manufacturers seek to differentiate products and enhance consumer appeal through feature rich, user-centric in vehicle experiences.

As technologies such as artificial intelligence, voice recognition, and multimodal interaction continue to evolve, human-vehicle interaction is becoming increasingly natural and intuitive. This enhanced interaction paradigm not only elevates the overall user experience but also contributes meaningfully to improved driving safety and in-cabin comfort.

As the diversity of in cabin connectivity continues to expand, the vehicle is evolving from a traditional mode of transportation into a third space connected with the user's broader digital ecosystem. By enabling seamless integration with smart home systems, mobile devices, and cloud-based services, the intelligent cockpit provides customized information, entertainment, and connected service designed to diverse mobility scenarios and evolving user expectations.

Despite the explosion of use cases, the industry still lacks common standards or widely adopted methods to classify the functional domains of intelligent cockpits. Disparate categorization approaches across organizations have resulted in fragmented information and inconsistent terminology, underscoring the need for a standardized, market-aligned classification framework.

In response, the China Society of Automotive Engineers, in collaboration with Volkswagen Group (China), and with support from S&P Mobility, has developed the "Features Classification Guidelines of Intelligent Cockpit" (hereafter, 'the Guidelines'). Grounded by the principles of comprehensive coverage, scientific rigor, scalability, and practical applicability, the Guidelines aim to provide industry stakeholders with a structured reference for understanding, evaluating, and deploying intelligent cockpit features and applications in different scenarios.

The Guidelines establish a standardized taxonomy and explanatory framework for functions classification of automotive cockpit, supporting product development, data driven decision making, and strategic planning. By building industry consensus around a unified classification system, this initiative aims to deepen insight into emerging technology trends, streamline functional design, and accelerate innovation in the intelligent cockpit domain.