China’s national smart-driving competition organised by D1EV.com released its latest rankings after the October 26, 2025 Ningbo round and the November 29–30, 2025 Taizhou round, with Avatr, XPeng’s (NYSE:XPEV) LiDAR variant, and NIO (NYSE:NIO) occupying the top three positions.

A scoring update was introduced in September 2025 that considers only the most recent six events—rounds 18 through 23—to better reflect rapid improvements in real-world driving automation.

Source: D1EV

Each round is scored on a dynamic scale centered at 100 points, where 100 represents flawless execution of all required tasks under that round’s test conditions. Scores above 100 indicate performance that exceeds baseline expectations, such as smoother trajectory planning, earlier recognition of complex scenarios, or more natural vehicle behavior in dense urban traffic.

Conversely, scores below 100 reflect missed cues, abrupt maneuvers, rule violations, or human disengagements. There is no hard upper limit; top performers regularly exceed 100, with the highest recorded score to date being 112.81.

The evaluation covers three domains: urban NOA navigation (traffic lights, unprotected turns, jaywalkers), highway autonomy (lane changes, merges, speed adaptation), and automated parking (perpendicular, parallel, and valet-style). All routes are disclosed in advance, but scenarios within them—such as sudden cut-ins or construction detours—are not scripted. Scoring combines telemetry data from the vehicle and third-party sensors with assessments from an independent judging panel to ensure consistency and fairness.

Since the Taizhou round, a “preliminary plus final” format has been used to improve judging quality and broadcast logistics. When a brand competes in both stages, its official score for that round is the arithmetic average of the two runs. Both stages use identical routes and criteria.

Source: D1EV

Avatr retained first place despite weak results in Nantong, Jiaxing, and Ningbo—where limited NOA-enabled road segments reduced its Ningbo score to 69.62. The removal of earlier high scores from Nanjing (100.88) and Changzhou (98.26) lowered its cumulative total by 24.52 points versus September. But in Taizhou, it posted 107.18 in prelims and 102.81 in finals, the only brand to break 100 in both stages, securing its lead.

Source: D1EV

XPeng’s LiDAR variant held second with 540.64 cumulative points and a 90.11 single-round average. Modest performances in Wuxi (75) and Ningbo (86) dragged its total down after losing Nanjing (106.88) and Changzhou (106.42) from the scoring window. Its Taizhou consistency—101.5 in prelims, 98 in finals—proved sufficient to maintain position.

Source: D1EV

Meanwhile, XPeng’s vision-based ADAS ranked 11th with a total score of 497.15, falling 6 spots this month. It’s vision-based variant struggled in the last two tests in Ningbo (72) and Taizhou (78.41).

Source: D1EV

NIO surged from 12th in September to third in November, adding 133.99 points for a total of 535.32 (89.22 average). The jump coincided with the exclusion of its worst-ever result—43.39 in Nanjing—and the inclusion of its best-ever: 99.75 in Taizhou. Four of its six counted rounds now exceed 90 points, a marked improvement over mid-year results.

AITO (Huawei-backed) ranked fourth with 532.98 points. A 102.25 prelim score in Taizhou offset weaker mid-cycle rounds, including a 75.05 in Jiaxing. Li Auto (NASDAQ:LI) remained eighth with 520.37 points, up slightly from September, supported by 81 in Ningbo and 97.03 in Taizhou.

ZEEKR entered the top ten for the first time in tenth place, gaining 182.66 points after adding Ningbo (93.18) and Taizhou (89.48) to its record. Previously absent from the Nanjing and Changzhou rounds, it now benefits from full eligibility under the rolling six-round window.

Source: D1EV

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) dropped to 13th with 504.20 points, down 31.73 from September. Despite a V13.2.9 update, its scores plateaued at 83.86 (Ningbo) and 80.83 (Taizhou), unable to recover from a 54-point low in Nantong.

Xiaomi slid to 12th but posted a personal best of 104.64 in Taizhou. BYD (HKG:1211), which only competed in Jiaxing (96.48), remains outside the top ten due to limited participation, not performance.

The methodology prioritizes recency and real-world robustness over historical highs. With the next round in Wenzhou, the scoring window will shift to rounds 19–24, potentially reshuffling the leaderboard again—especially for brands whose early-autumn peaks are about to expire.