Meituan, JD.com, Li Auto-backed Neolix win licences to test unmanned delivery in Beijing

Three companies have been granted licences to test self-driving delivery vehicles at an economic and technological development zone. China is under pressure to develop autonomous technology as its population ages and labour pool shrinks. — SCMP

China’s capital city is paving the way for more robots on the road as the country’s pool of cheap labour shrinks and working conditions in delivery companies come under scrutiny.

E-commerce platform JD.com, on-demand service platform Meituan, and Li Auto-backed autonomous driving startup Neolix received licences on Tuesday to test their autonomous delivery vehicles in the Beijing Economic-Technological Development Area, a government-developed zone in the southern part of the city known as E-Town.