Autonomous last-mile delivery cars, a key solution born for contactless delivery to reach end customers during pandemic lockdowns, will enjoy a booming market in China, according to newly released blue book on the automotive industry.

The market is projected to experience exponential growth within the next five years and reach a volume of 60,000 driverless last-mile delivery cars by 2025, said an annual report on the development of China's commercial vehicle industry released on Tuesday.

However, many challenges still lie ahead for the commercialization of autonomous-driving vehicles, the report noted. Policies and regulations for their right of way and road access are not clear, and the country lacks industrial standards for different applied scenarios of such vehicles. 

In addition, the large-scale implementation of commercial autonomous-driving vehicles requires the construction of communication networks and supporting infrastructure, a supporting infrastructure construction that China still needs to improve upon, the report said. 

A market driven by COVID-19

The last-mile logistics have always been a problematic part of the supply chain. However, driven by the requirement of contactless delivery under pandemic lockdowns, autonomous-driving vehicles are the first to test out their capabilities and commercialization abilities under such scenario.

During the worst COVID-19 outbreak in Shanghai, JD, Meituan and Alibaba – three of China's e-commerce conglomerates – dispatched hundreds of driverless delivery cars to residential communities as a solution to contactless delivery and sanitization issues. 

The blue book noted that the consumption scenarios for "unmanned economy" powered by low-speed, unmanned vehicles have particularly increased since 2020. As the market scale for last-mile delivery expand, enterprises could shift their focus to its related industry layout, such as the construction of intelligent roadside infrastructure that can interact with self-driving vehicles.

It is estimated that the market size for such vehicles and related infrastructure combined is expected to reach 496 billion yuan ($74.28 million) by 2030, the report said.