---
title: Autonomous Delivery Robots
type: technology
url: "https://www.envisioning.com/research/forge/china__autonomous-delivery-robots"
hub: forge
summary: "Over 6,000 autonomous delivery vehicles operate across 100+ Chinese cities, with Meituan's fleet completing 100,000+ orders before national guidelines even existed"
---

# Autonomous Delivery Robots

Over 6,000 autonomous delivery vehicles operate across 100+ Chinese cities, with Meituan's fleet completing 100,000+ orders before national guidelines even existed
- Technology Readiness Level: 7/9
- Impact: 2/5
- Investment: 4/5
Meituan, Neolix, and Idriverplus deploy sidewalk and road-going delivery robots that carry food, packages, and groceries. By mid-2025, over 100 Chinese cities had opened roads to unmanned delivery vehicles — often before formal regulations were written.

The regulatory approach is notable: China let companies deploy first and regulated afterward, gathering real-world data to inform rules rather than trying to anticipate every scenario in advance. Meituan logged 500,000+ kilometers of autonomous delivery before national guidelines were issued.

The business case is strongest for 'last-mile' delivery in dense urban areas where labor costs are rising and traffic congestion makes human delivery slow. The robots typically operate on sidewalks at 5-15 km/h, handling deliveries within a 3 km radius of a merchant.

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Source: Envisioning — Technology Research Institute (https://www.envisioning.com/research/forge/china__autonomous-delivery-robots)