Integrating Vehicles, Roads, and Cloud: Unleashing the Potential of a Trillion – Dollar Market – 36Kr

Report on the Development of Vehicle-Road-Cloud Integration and its Alignment with Sustainable Development Goals

1.0 Introduction: A New Paradigm for Sustainable Urban Mobility

China is advancing the development of Vehicle-Road-Cloud Integrated systems, a new form of infrastructure designed to enhance transportation safety, efficiency, and sustainability. This initiative integrates vehicles, roadside infrastructure, and cloud computing platforms, representing a significant step towards achieving several United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). By creating “intelligent” roads for “smart” cars, this system directly supports the creation of sustainable cities (SDG 11), the development of resilient infrastructure (SDG 9), and the improvement of public health and safety (SDG 3).

2.0 Initiative Overview and National Strategy

2.1 Technological Framework

The Vehicle-Road-Cloud integration system functions by enabling real-time communication between vehicles and their surrounding environment. This is achieved through:

• Roadside Sensors: Detect hazards beyond a driver’s line of sight, such as pedestrians in blind spots.
• 5G Communication Networks: Transmit real-time data between roadside units, vehicles, and a central cloud platform.
• Cloud Platform: Processes data to coordinate traffic flow, manage vehicle movements, and provide critical information to drivers and autonomous systems.

This collaborative perception technology significantly improves driving safety, particularly in adverse weather conditions, and enhances traffic efficiency by providing dynamic information for navigation and parking.

2.2 National Policy and Pilot Programs

The Chinese government has demonstrated strong policy support for this initiative. Since 2024, a coordinated effort by five ministries has launched pilot applications in 20 major cities, including Beijing, Shanghai, and Shenzhen. The objective is to establish urban-level application projects with unified standards and interoperable services. Key policy actions include:

1. The “Notice on Supporting and Guiding the Digital Transformation and Upgrading of Highway and Waterway Transportation Infrastructure” aims to upgrade national expressways and highways.
2. The “Notice on Carrying out Pilot Applications of ‘Vehicle-Road-Cloud Integration’ for Intelligent Connected Vehicles” established the 20 pilot cities.

These programs have resulted in the deployment of over 35,000 kilometers of test roads and the launch of demonstration projects with investments reaching tens of billions of yuan.

3.0 Contributions to Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

3.1 SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities

The initiative is a cornerstone for building smart, resilient, and sustainable urban environments. Its contributions include:

• Enhanced Public Transport (Target 11.2): Smart bus systems in Beijing and Guangzhou utilize traffic signal priority and platoon driving, improving on-time rates, increasing passenger volume, and reducing energy consumption.
• Reduced Traffic Congestion (Target 11.6): By optimizing traffic flow and providing real-time parking guidance, the system reduces vehicle idling and circling, thereby lowering urban air pollution.
• Resilient Urban Infrastructure (Target 11.B): The system is identified as a key task in the “Opinions on Promoting the Construction of New-Type Urban Infrastructure to Build Resilient Cities,” supporting integrated urban planning and management.

3.2 SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure

Vehicle-Road-Cloud integration represents a major investment in innovative and resilient infrastructure (Target 9.1), fostering a new high-tech industrial ecosystem.

• Technological Upgrading: The project drives innovation across the automotive, communication, and transportation sectors.
• Economic Impact: The incremental output value of the industry is projected to reach 729.5 billion yuan in 2025 and 2.58 trillion yuan in 2030, contributing significantly to sustainable industrialization (Target 9.2).

3.3 SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being

A primary benefit of the system is the significant improvement in road safety, directly addressing SDG Target 3.6, which aims to halve the number of global deaths and injuries from road traffic accidents.

• Accident Prevention: The system’s ability to detect and communicate hazards in real-time, such as on dangerous ramps or in driver blind spots, prevents collisions before they occur.
• Support for Autonomous Driving: By providing a safer and more predictable environment, the infrastructure accelerates the deployment of autonomous vehicles, which have the potential to dramatically reduce human-error-related accidents.

3.4 SDG 13: Climate Action

The system contributes to climate change mitigation (Target 13.2) by promoting energy efficiency in transportation.

• Emission Reduction: Smoother traffic flow and reduced congestion lead to lower fuel consumption and associated greenhouse gas emissions.
• Support for Electric Vehicles (EVs): The platform can guide EVs to available charging stations, improving the efficiency and convenience of the charging infrastructure and supporting the transition to clean energy transport.

4.0 Challenges and Commercial Viability

4.1 Financial and Economic Hurdles

Despite its potential, the large-scale implementation of Vehicle-Road-Cloud integration faces significant challenges:

• High Investment Costs: Roadside infrastructure upgrades are capital-intensive, with costs averaging up to one million yuan per kilometer, primarily funded by local governments.
• Unclear Return on Investment (ROI): The lack of a proven, sustainable business model deters private sector investment, including from automotive enterprises who see fragmented infrastructure coverage as a barrier to user adoption.
• Fragmented Organizational Structure: A lack of unified standards and multiple contractors across different regions creates integration difficulties for vehicle manufacturers.

4.2 Pathways to a Sustainable Business Model

Experts are exploring several commercialization strategies to ensure the long-term financial sustainability of the initiative, fostering the multi-stakeholder partnerships essential for SDG 17.

1. Lightweight Deployment: A proposed strategy involves prioritizing core data access (e.g., traffic lights) and sensor installation at critical intersections to achieve wider coverage with lower initial investment.
2. Data Monetization: The vast amounts of data generated can be processed and sold to autonomous driving companies, map providers, and other stakeholders.
3. Public-Private Partnerships (SDG 17):
   • Collaboration with communication operators (e.g., China Mobile) to share revenue from increased data traffic generated by connected vehicles.
   • Adopting financing models similar to expressway construction, where operational revenue repays initial investment loans.
4. Direct Service Fees: Implementing road usage fees or annual license fees for autonomous vehicle companies operating on the intelligent road network.

5.0 Conclusion

The Vehicle-Road-Cloud integration initiative in China is a forward-looking strategy that strongly aligns with global Sustainable Development Goals. While substantial financial and organizational challenges remain, the development of innovative, multi-stakeholder business models holds the key to unlocking its full potential. A cautious, well-planned approach to investment and commercialization will be crucial for scaling this transformative infrastructure from city-level pilots to a national standard, thereby creating safer, smarter, and more sustainable transportation systems for the future.

Analysis of Sustainable Development Goals in the Article

1. Which SDGs are addressed or connected to the issues highlighted in the article?

• SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being: The article emphasizes how vehicle-road-cloud integration technology significantly improves road safety by preventing accidents, which directly contributes to reducing injuries and deaths from road traffic incidents.
• SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth: The article highlights the massive economic potential of the vehicle-road-cloud integration industry, citing projections of incremental output value reaching trillions of yuan by 2030. This represents a significant driver for economic growth and productivity.
• SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure: The core topic of the article is the development of a new type of resilient and intelligent infrastructure (vehicle-road-cloud integration). It discusses large-scale investment in upgrading roads, communication networks, and creating a new technological ecosystem, which is central to this goal.
• SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities: The technology is presented as a solution for major urban challenges (“big-city diseases”) like traffic congestion and parking difficulties. By creating smarter, more efficient, and safer transportation systems, it directly supports the goal of making cities more sustainable, inclusive, and resilient.

2. What specific targets under those SDGs can be identified based on the article’s content?

• Target 3.6: Halve the number of global deaths and injuries from road traffic accidents. The article’s opening example describes a pedestrian-related accident being “averted in advance.” It also notes that the technology can address “high-frequency accident scenarios” like merging on ramps, directly aligning with the objective of reducing road traffic injuries and fatalities.
• Target 8.2: Achieve higher levels of economic productivity through diversification, technological upgrading and innovation. The article explicitly states that the “incremental output value of the vehicle-road-cloud integrated intelligent connected vehicle industry is expected to reach 729.5 billion yuan in 2025 and 2.5825 trillion yuan in 2030,” showcasing how this technological innovation is driving economic productivity and creating a new, high-value market.
• Target 9.1: Develop quality, reliable, sustainable and resilient infrastructure… to support economic development and human well-being. The entire initiative described, involving the digital transformation of highways and urban roads in 20 cities with investments of “tens of billions of yuan,” is a direct effort to develop a new, resilient, and technologically advanced transportation infrastructure.
• Target 11.2: Provide access to safe, affordable, accessible and sustainable transport systems for all, improving road safety. The article discusses improvements to public transportation, such as smart buses having a better “on-time rate” and increased “daily passenger volume.” It also addresses traffic efficiency, reduced congestion, and improved safety, all of which are key components of creating sustainable urban transport systems.

3. Are there any indicators mentioned or implied in the article that can be used to measure progress towards the identified targets?

• For SDG 3 & 11 (Safety): While not providing specific statistics, the article implies that a key indicator is the reduction in the number of road traffic accidents. The opening anecdote of an averted accident serves as a qualitative example of this indicator in action.
• For SDG 8 (Economic Growth): The article provides explicit quantitative indicators:
  • Incremental output value of the industry: Projected to be 729.5 billion yuan in 2025 and 2.5825 trillion yuan in 2030.
  • Market scale of intelligent connected vehicles: Expected to exceed 5 trillion yuan in 2030.
  • Market scale related to vehicle-road-cloud integration: Projected to exceed 14 trillion yuan.
• For SDG 9 (Infrastructure): The article mentions several indicators that measure the scale of infrastructure development:
  • Number of pilot cities: 20 cities, including Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou.
  • Total length of upgraded/test roads: “more than 35,000 kilometers of test demonstration roads have been opened.”
  • Total financial investment in infrastructure projects: “tens of billions of yuan,” with specific examples like Beijing’s 10 billion yuan project and Wuhan’s 17 billion yuan project.
  • Geographic coverage of intelligent facilities: “intelligent facilities have been deployed over an area of 600 square kilometers” in Beijing’s Economic Development Zone.
• For SDG 11 (Sustainable Transport): The article points to indicators for measuring the efficiency and usage of public transport:
  • On-time rate of public buses: Mentioned as having improved for smart buses in pilot projects.
  • Daily passenger volume on public transport routes: Stated to have “increased compared with traditional buses” on pilot routes.
  • Improved traffic efficiency: An implied indicator, as the system is designed to reduce congestion and improve traffic flow.

4. Summary Table of SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

Source: eu.36kr.com