Accelerating Integration of Vehicles, Roads, and Cities: Local Pilots Advance Amid Industry Challenges

As pilot applications of the integrated "vehicle-road-cloud" system deepen and urban intelligent infrastructure advances in tandem with connected and autonomous vehicles, China’s vehicle-road-city integration is transitioning from a phase of technical validation to large-scale deployment. In 2025, the number of unmanned delivery vehicles operating on public roads has surged significantly, with a notable increase in cities granting road access rights. The industry has entered an explosive growth phase, marked by accelerated technological iteration, declining costs, expanded application scenarios, growing participation from diverse stakeholders, continuous business model innovation, and heightened interest from social capital. At the Vehicle-Road-City Integration sub-forum of the High-Level Forum on Intelligent and Electric Vehicle Development held on April 12, 2026, representatives from multiple sectors noted that although the integration pathway is becoming clearer, bottlenecks remain in areas such as policy standards, implementation of road rights, and data coordination. Hainan has already established a dual-regulatory platform, opened test roads, developed distinctive testing scenarios, and launched a pilot program for exporting automotive data overseas. It plans to further refine relevant legislation and expand vehicle deployment. Nanjing has built a cloud-control foundational platform to enable data interconnectivity, formulated an application scenario development plan, and will next extend intelligent coverage to more roadways. Hong Kong has issued commercial autonomous driving licenses and plans to conduct tests without safety drivers, though it faces data constraints; to address this, it has developed an intelligent driving simulation platform. Zhengzhou is implementing a “three-step” strategy to build demonstration operation bases and industrial ecosystem clusters, with future efforts focusing on deepening layout in core segments. Meanwhile, the industry continues to face challenges related to technology, cost, and operations. The Ministry of Public Security proposed establishing a collaborative “vehicle-road-cloud” safety management system. Some experts stressed the urgent need to accelerate road access liberalization for unmanned delivery. Others pointed out that China’s public transit sector still lags behind that of developed countries and recommended leveraging existing transportation advantages while exploring urban low-altitude mobility solutions. Additional suggestions emphasized closing the vehicle-road-city development loop and integrating data resources to better serve end users. Certain technical experts proposed building a tiered perception system. FAW Hongqi announced it will equip its vehicles with integrated vehicle-road-cloud capabilities. Robotaxi operators highlighted the necessity of mastering multidisciplinary expertise, while unmanned delivery companies believe the industry is now entering a golden window for international expansion.