Are Domestic Cars Left-Hand Drive or Right-Hand Drive?
2 Answers
Domestic cars in China are left-hand drive vehicles, and cars in China drive on the right side of the road. This is somewhat related to the characteristics of the northern and southern hemispheres. If a driver with a Chinese driver's license goes to the southern hemisphere, they cannot drive a car there because cars in the southern hemisphere are right-hand drive. If someone with a Chinese driver's license wants to drive abroad, they need to have a foreign driver's license. When purchasing imported vehicles, they cannot buy imported cars that have been converted from right-hand drive to left-hand drive, as this can lead to many problems in the later stages of car use. Driving abroad without a foreign driver's license is illegal. Left-Hand Drive Countries: Most countries in the world use left-hand drive vehicles and drive on the right side of the road, including China, the United States, France, Germany, Russia, South Korea, Italy, Spain, Brazil, etc. Right-Hand Drive Countries: Commonwealth countries and Japan use right-hand drive vehicles, and other Commonwealth countries also maintain the habit of driving on the left side. Examples include Ireland, Kenya, Japan, Grenada, Malawi, Nepal, the Channel Islands, Mozambique, Sri Lanka, the Cayman Islands, Namibia, Thailand, etc.
This is a quite common question. All cars in China are left-hand drive (LHD) with the steering wheel on the left side, primarily because our traffic rules require driving on the right side of the road. Sitting on the left while driving gives you better visibility of oncoming traffic, a wider field of view, and reduces fatigue during long-distance driving. With over 20 years of driving experience, I once tried imported right-hand drive (RHD) vehicles in earlier years and found them particularly uncomfortable. Now that the entire country has standardized on left-hand drive, it feels much more reassuring. By the way, why this design? It's actually related to history – after the 1980s, China standardized to align with most countries. In Hong Kong and Macau, they still use right-hand drive due to British influence, but mainland China uniformly adopts left-hand drive. New drivers should note that it might feel strange at first, but once accustomed, it's much safer, especially on urban roads. Car manufacturers now optimize vehicles specifically for left-hand drive, making control systems more ergonomic and reducing accident risks.
