Shenzhen puts intelligent connected vehicles into commercial operation

Shenzhen City's Nanshan District, a tech hub in south China renowned for its ultramodern infrastructure, has officially initiated a pilot program for the commercial operation of intelligent connected vehicles (ICVs).

Guidelines for the program, which came into effect on Feb 5 and are set to run for a period of two years, aim to accelerate the application of self-driving technology and prop up the high-quality development of the region's ICV industry, paving the way for a new era in transportation.

ICVs engaged in commercial operations, including passenger cars, commercial vehicles, and specialized operation vehicles will take part in the program. Vehicle fleets will be required to have drivers on board, with a ratio of at least one safety officer for every three unmanned commercial operation pilot vehicles.

According to the district, the first batch of ICVs engaged in pilot commercial operations went to five autonomous mobility service providers, including Pony.ai and OnTime Mobility. The initial application for the commercial operation pilot is capped at 30 vehicles.

Meanwhile, Nanshan District also announced the first batch of functional unmanned vehicle undergoing road tests in 2025 for five companies, including Unity Drive, a Shenzhen-based firm that produces multifunctional ICVs for various industrial applications.

"In the future, we plan to carry out pilot tests in the science park and actively explore the deep integration of 5G and large AI models to give unmanned vehicles more powerful intelligent decision-making capabilities," said Kuang Hanqin, director of the internet of vehicles business unit at Unity Drive.

By the end of 2025, the number of driverless vehicles on Shenzhen roads will exceed the 1,000-unit benchmark. The city will become a model of the high-quality development of ICVs in China, as well as a leading city with an ICV industrial cluster, according to the city's action plan on developing the driverless vehicle industrial cluster (2022-2025).

"Shenzhen has more than 2,700 companies in the upstream and downstream of the intelligent connected vehicles sector. The scenario-based application can be used as a guide to further pool talents, innovation and capital to the upstream and downstream of Shenzhen's intelligent connected vehicles at a faster pace, thereby achieving the large-scale development of the entire industry," said Wei Fulei, director of the Finance, Taxation, Trade and Industrial Development Research Center under the China Development Institute.

Shenzhen puts intelligent connected vehicles into commercial operation

Chinese Premier Li Qiang on Thursday presided over a State Council executive meeting that studied work on building a unified national market and reviewed and approved a plan for the development of a modern emergency response system during the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-2030).

Noting that building a unified national market is essential to advancing high-quality development, the meeting called for deepening institutional frameworks in areas such as property rights protection, market access, fair competition, social credit and market exit mechanisms.

The meeting also urged efforts to advance high-standard connectivity of market infrastructure to facilitate smooth economic circulation and effectively reduce logistics costs across society.

Emergency management is critical to protecting people's lives and property, the meeting said. It called for accelerating the development of a modern emergency response system, deepening reform and innovation in emergency management, and improving coordinated response mechanisms.

Efforts should be made to strengthen risk prevention at the source, enhance monitoring, forecasting and early warning, and accelerate a shift in governance toward proactive prevention, according to the meeting.

A draft revision of the Law on the People's Bank of China was also discussed and approved in principle at the meeting, which decided to submit the draft to the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress for deliberation.

Chinese premier chairs State Council executive meeting