GB 21670-2025
Technical requirements and testing methods for passenger car braking systems
Standard Introduction
GB 21670-2025 is China's current mandatory national standard for passenger-car braking systems. Published on 30 May 2025 and effective from 1 January 2026, it replaced the 2008 edition and provides the system-level requirements and test basis for service, secondary, parking, anti-lock and electronically controlled braking.
For electrified and software-defined vehicles, conformity is broader than one 100-to-0 km/h stopping-distance result. It includes regenerative-braking integration, electronic controls, functional-safety evidence, fault and warning behavior, the tested vehicle configuration and change control.
Mandatory Passenger-Car Rule
China's current mandatory national standard for passenger-car braking systems, published on 30 May 2025 and effective from 1 January 2026.
Whole-System Performance
Covers service, secondary and parking braking performance together with anti-lock and electronically controlled braking functions, rather than a single stopping-distance claim.
Electronic and Regenerative Braking
The 2025 edition addresses electronic brake controls, electric-transmission braking, regenerative braking and functional-safety documentation relevant to modern electrified vehicles.
list_alt What the Standard Controls
- Passenger-car service, secondary and parking braking systems
- Braking performance under defined vehicle loads and test conditions
- Anti-lock braking performance and warning behavior
- Electronic brake control and electric-transmission braking functions
- Regenerative braking interaction in electrified vehicles
- Functional-safety documentation and applicable tests
- Vehicle-type extension criteria for hardware, software and vehicle variants
- Evidence traceability for type approval and production changes
Who Needs to Comply?
Passenger-car manufacturers seeking market access in China, braking-system and electronic-control suppliers, vehicle integration teams, homologation engineers, designated testing laboratories, and quality teams managing vehicle variants or software changes.
Key Requirements
Define the Braking Architecture
Document the service, secondary and parking braking systems, assistance method, brake hardware, electronic controllers, software versions and interfaces with electric or regenerative braking.
Verify Performance by Test Condition
Demonstrate the required braking behavior using the standard's specified vehicle state, mass, speed, road, temperature and fault conditions; a marketing stopping-distance figure is not a substitute for the prescribed test set.
Control ABS and Electronic Functions
Verify anti-lock performance, warning indications, electronic brake-force distribution, brake assistance and other electronic control functions that influence service braking.
Address Electrified-Vehicle Integration
Show that regenerative and electric-transmission braking interact safely with friction brakes and preserve required braking performance when operating states or faults change.
Maintain Functional-Safety Evidence
Retain the required functional-safety description, analysis, test evidence and configuration links for brake electronic control systems, including justified treatment of software changes.
Manage Type Extensions
Reassess conformity when vehicle mass, axle load, wheelbase, tires, brake components, controllers, suppliers or software versions change; do not assume one tested configuration covers every derivative.
Implementation Roadmap
Scope the vehicle and braking architecture
Confirm the passenger-car classification and create a controlled system boundary covering service, secondary and parking braking, assistance, ABS, electronic brake controls, regenerative braking and vehicle interfaces.
Build the requirement and evidence matrix
Map each applicable clause and test to an owner, vehicle configuration, component baseline, software version, evidence artifact and acceptance decision. Separate mandatory evidence from internal targets and marketing claims.
Validate representative configurations
Run the prescribed tests with controlled mass, axle load, tires, brake hardware, temperature and operating states. Include fault, warning, ABS, electric and regenerative braking conditions where applicable.
Approve type extensions and production changes
Justify which derivatives are covered by the tested type, retain functional-safety and configuration evidence, and trigger reassessment when hardware, supplier, tire, mass, controller or software changes can affect braking.
Compliance Checklist
checklist Scope and configuration
checklist Testing and safety evidence
checklist Change and claim control
Braking Evidence: Standard Test vs Product Claim
Use the evidence type that matches the decision. Product descriptions can explain features, but they do not replace prescribed conformity records.
| Evidence | What it supports | What it does not prove |
|---|---|---|
| GB 21670 prescribed test report | Performance of the tested passenger-car braking configuration under specified conditions | Every untested derivative or later software and hardware change |
| Type-extension assessment | Why defined variants remain represented by existing evidence | Coverage when relevant characteristics changed without analysis |
| Manufacturer feature statement | The company's description of intended functions or technology | Independent conformity with every applicable GB 21670 requirement |
| Single stopping-distance result | Performance in the stated test setup | Whole-system compliance across load, fault, warning, ABS and parking-brake conditions |
Common Misconceptions
Regenerative braking can replace the friction-brake compliance program.
Electrified vehicles must manage the interaction between regenerative and friction braking and preserve required performance across operating states and faults.
A software-only brake-control update never affects homologation evidence.
Software version and electronic-control behavior are part of the controlled configuration. The impact must be assessed and regression evidence retained.
A premium vehicle or advanced chassis feature automatically exceeds the mandatory standard.
Price, positioning and feature names do not establish conformity. Evidence must follow the prescribed scope, test method and exact vehicle configuration.
Penalties & Enforcement
GB 21670-2025 is a mandatory national standard. A covered passenger car that cannot demonstrate conformity may fail type approval or market-access procedures, require corrective action, or face recall and product-quality enforcement under applicable Chinese law. The standard page does not establish whether any specific vehicle model has passed the required tests.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is GB 21670-2025 mandatory?
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Yes. It is a Chinese mandatory national standard for passenger-car braking systems. It was published on 30 May 2025 and became effective on 1 January 2026, replacing GB 21670-2008.
Does GB 21670-2025 cover only stopping distance?
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No. It addresses the passenger-car braking system across service, secondary and parking braking, anti-lock and electronic controls, electric and regenerative braking interactions, warnings, fault behavior and prescribed test conditions.
Does a short advertised braking distance prove GB 21670-2025 compliance?
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No. A marketing test may use a different speed, load, tire, road, temperature or measurement method. Conformity depends on the full set of applicable prescribed tests and controlled evidence, not one headline number.
How does GB 21670-2025 relate to GB 30677-2026?
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GB 21670-2025 governs passenger-car braking-system requirements. GB 30677-2026 separately governs electronic stability control performance for light-duty vehicles. ESC can command selective wheel braking, but the ESC standard does not replace base braking-system conformity.
Does the Maextro V800 pedal-bracket event prove noncompliance with GB 21670-2025?
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Not by itself. The reported repeated fractures are material safety evidence that warrants investigation, but a formal GB 21670 conclusion requires the applicable clauses, exact configurations, prescribed test methods and authoritative results. The manufacturer has not published a complete investigation or conformity file in the sources reviewed.
Official Documentation
Official PDF for GB 21670-2025
Official publication or summary for GB 21670-2025
Official online resource
State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) / Standardization Administration of China (SAC) guidance and reference material
Implementation toolkit
Templates, guidance, or companion resources for GB 21670-2025