China's Ministry of Industry has announced the inclusion of 20 cities, including Beijing and Shanghai, in a pilot initiative focused on 'vehicle-road-cloud integration' for intelligent connected vehicles. The program aims to establish a standardised and unified system by 2026, facilitating the deployment of smart-connected vehicles across the nation, according to a statement released by the ministry on Wednesday.

Why does it matter?

Recently, China announced increased policy support to accelerate the development of smart connected vehicles, which experts believe could make the country the world's largest market for self-driving cars. As part of these efforts, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology plans to allocate 100 million 11-digit mobile network numbers to enhance communication among vehicles and with back-end management systems. According to McKinsey & Co., projections estimate that China's autonomous vehicle market could exceed$500 billion in revenue by 2030.