Introduction

In 2025, over 12.6 billion yuan in real money will be poured into the unmanned sanitation vehicle sector, marking a year-on-year increase of over 150%.

This is not merely a simple industrial growth curve; rather, it represents a 'urban governance revolution' actively initiated by local governments and voted on through fiscal budgets.

This substantial order clearly reveals the core secrets of how new technologies are implemented in China: policy-driven funding, scenario-driven adoption, and model-driven success.

The four leading provinces—Guangdong, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Anhui—serve as four distinct 'experimental zones,' providing the entire country with a vivid demonstration of how to reshape urban public services using intelligent machines.

(For further reading, please click: 'Fulongma Partners with Huawei: Focusing on Autonomous Driving, Artificial Intelligence, and Embodied Intelligence! Autonomous Sanitation Equipment: A Replicable Product Solution from 'Single-Vehicle Intelligence' to 'Scenario Intelligence')

I. The Transformation of 'Government Thinking' Behind the 12.6 Billion Yuan: From 'Purchasing Equipment' to 'Buying Intelligent Services'

The explosive growth of the 12.6 billion yuan order stems from a fundamental shift in the local government procurement logic.

In the past, government purchases of sanitation services primarily focused on 'manpower' and 'traditional equipment,' with assessments based on attendance and frequency of cleaning.

Today, however, mega orders such as Shenzhen's 'Urban Steward' and Hangzhou's 'Integrated Maintenance' signify that governments are beginning to systematically procure 'comprehensive solutions based on unmanned technology.'

The core driving forces behind this transformation are threefold:

First, addressing fiscal 'rigid constraints' and 'manpower dilemmas.'

Sanitation is a typical labor-intensive fiscal expenditure project, with manpower costs rising steadily each year and facing challenges such as an aging workforce and recruitment difficulties.

Although the initial capital expenditure for unmanned equipment is higher, it replaces manpower costs over the next 3-5 years or even longer. From a full lifecycle cost perspective, this offers significant fiscal optimization value.

A project in Yongkang City, Zhejiang Province, dared to invest in 34 unmanned vehicles, reflecting a sophisticated long-term economic calculation.

Second, achieving a 'paradigm shift' in management efficiency.

Unmanned sanitation vehicles are not just cleaning tools; they are also mobile data collection terminals.

The data they generate—including routes, work areas, energy consumption, and even unexpected incidents—during their 24/7 operations enables urban sanitation management to evolve from crude empirical judgments to quantifiable, traceable, and optimizable digital precision governance.

This aligns with the intrinsic requirements of local governments to enhance the modernization of urban governance.

Third, creating a 'new quality productive forces' achievement card.

Under the guidance of the 'Artificial Intelligence+' national strategy, the large-scale application of autonomous driving technology has become a landmark project for local governments to showcase their industrial foresight and governance innovation. Projects in Guangdong, Zhejiang, and other regions carry strong demonstration and export implications.

Therefore, the 12.6 billion yuan buys not just 'cleanliness' but also 'data,' 'efficiency,' and 'urban image.'

This represents a powerful reshaping of the supply side (tech companies) initiated by the demand side (governments).

II. The Four-Province Race: A 'Unmanned' Reflection of China's Regional Economic Ecosystem

The differing development paths of the four leading provinces are no accident; rather, they accurately reflect their economic structures, industrial foundations, and governance styles, forming a 'panoramic map' of China's intelligent transformation.

1. Guangdong Model: Disruptive Reconstruction of 'Megacity' Governance

Guangdong leads the pack with 41% of the projects, particularly Shenzhen's 'Urban Steward' model, which represents a top-down, all-encompassing radical approach.

Shenzhen bundles public services such as sanitation, greening, and municipal maintenance into multi-billion-yuan, multi-year mega contracts, requiring winning bidders to deploy large-scale unmanned vehicle fleets.

This is not a 'pilot' but an administrative-driven forced upgrade of the entire city's public service system to an 'unmanned' standard.

This model demands extremely high thresholds, requiring companies to possess substantial capital, full-chain operational capabilities, and technological confidence to handle complex urban scenarios. As a result, it has spawned 'all-round players' such as Covar Robotics and Zoomlion Heavy Industry.

(For further reading, please click: 'Autonomous Driving Sanitation Project Contracts Exceed 10 Billion Yuan for the First Time: Guangdong Accounts for 58%; Environmental Sanitation, Covar Robotics, and Shenzhen Gendi Rank Top Three! A 'Three-Way Battle' of Technological Maturity, Policy Support, and Market Demand')

The core of the Guangdong model is 'scaling for ecosystem development,' using the largest market to mature the most complete industrial chain and business model.

2. Jiangsu Model: Scenario-Driven Deep Cultivation Led by 'Smart Buyers'

Unlike Guangdong's 'bold and expansive' approach, Jiangsu (especially Suzhou) showcases the traits of a 'smart buyer': it does not pursue comprehensive replacement but focuses on 'precision strikes' in high-value scenarios.

International technology parks, ancient canal scenic areas, high-speed rail stations—these scenarios either have high image requirements, pose operational safety risks, or incur excessively high manpower costs, making the return on investment (ROI) for unmanned sanitation extremely clear.

The Jiangsu market has attracted companies such as Yunchuang Zhixing and Zhitu Technology, which possess deep industrial backgrounds or focus on niche scenarios. Competition here emphasizes a deep understanding of specific scenarios and the ability to provide customized solutions. This represents a pragmatic path of 'persuading the market with efficiency.'

3. Zhejiang Model: County-Level Scaling Miracles Under 'Common Prosperity'

What is most astonishing in Zhejiang is the explosion of unmanned sanitation in the county-level market.

County-level cities such as Cixi and Yongkang have seen orders for dozens of unmanned vehicles and amounts exceeding 100 million yuan, subvert ing (overturning) the perception that 'high-tech is limited to first-tier cities.'

Behind this lies Zhejiang's developed county economy, strong innovative culture among private enterprises, and deeply ingrained 'government purchase of services' philosophy.

(For further reading, please click: 'Zhejiang Province: Unmanned Driving Sweepers Hit the Roads in Hangzhou, Wenzhou, Pinghu, Jiaxing, Lishui, Shaoxing, and Other Areas, as Sanitation Workers Bid Farewell to the 'Steamer Mode!')

Local governments dare to pay for clearly defined technological efficacy, while companies can derive long-term benefits through operational services rather than mere equipment sales. The Zhejiang model proves that the commercial closed loop (closed loop) of unmanned sanitation can first succeed in the vast lower-tier markets, representing a paradigm of 'market-driven inclusivity.'

4. Anhui Model: Region-Bundled Leapfrogging Driven by 'Industry Leaders'

The Anhui market exhibits a distinct 'industry leader-driven' characteristic, with top companies such as Covar Robotics forming consortia with local state-owned enterprises to dominate large orders in core regions. This reflects a typical strategy of inland provinces in industrial upgrading: introducing a powerful external 'catalyst,' binding local resources, and rapidly forming demonstrations and industrial clusters in key regions. This model enables rapid initiation and scaling but poses challenges for nurturing a diversified local ecosystem. It represents the wisdom of 'leveraging external forces for leapfrogging' in developing regions.

III. After the Feast: Dual Challenges for Sustainable Growth and the Future Game Board

While the 12.6 billion yuan feast is delightful, the industry must confront two major challenges to achieve true long-term health:

First, genuine competitiveness after 'subsidy removal.'

Many current projects still carry a strong policy demonstration hue.

In the future, as subsidies decline and bidding price competition intensifies, unmanned sanitation solutions must comprehensively outperform traditional models in terms of cost, reliability, and efficiency without special support.

This requires further cost reductions in technology and extremely lean operational models.

Second, 'data silos' and ecosystem collaboration.

Currently, each company's vehicles and platforms operate in isolation, generating fragmented 'data chimneys.'

In the future, cities will need a unified 'urban service robot' management platform capable of coordinating and dispatching automatic devices with different functions, such as unmanned sanitation vehicles, unmanned delivery vehicles, and security patrol vehicles.

This necessitates the opening of industry standards and data interfaces, as well as cross-enterprise ecosystem collaboration, which is far more challenging than the technology itself.

IV. From 'Fiscal Story' to 'Industrial Revolution'

The 12.6 billion yuan in 2025 marks a glorious starting point.

It declares that autonomous driving technology has found its maximum application scenario in China—one supported by the government, with rigid demand and a clear business model.

The differentiated paths of the four leading provinces provide diversified 'textbooks' for the entire country.

However, whether this 'spark' ignited by local government fiscal budgets can ultimately evolve into a genuine 'industrial revolution' driven by markets and technology depends on whether companies can overcome the cost and data chasms in the next phase.

The unmanned sanitation race is shifting from 'project acquisition' in the first half to 'operational excellence' and 'ecosystem building' in the second half.

When unmanned sweeping vehicles cease to be mere highlights on procurement lists and instead become silent, reliable, and economical default tools in the hands of urban managers—like sprinkler trucks and garbage trucks—this silent revolution will truly succeed.

(For further reading, please click: ''Jiuzhi Jijing-Luyou': The World's First L4-Level Sanitation Sweeping Vehicle Officially Delivers 10 Units in Wuxi! 'Hidden Champions' of Unmanned Vehicles in Niche Scenarios Such as Sanitation, Animal Husbandry, and Logistics')

In summary, the WeChat public account 'Unmanned Vehicles Are Here' believes:

The story of unmanned sanitation vehicles has just begun, but these 12.6 billion yuan in orders already prove:

In China, technological innovation is never just a breakthrough in the laboratory; it is a systematic project that deeply understands local needs and integrates into the governance system.

This intelligent cleaning revolution, spreading from south to north and from coastal to inland regions, will ultimately paint a more splendid panorama of China's governance modernization than any technological blueprint.

What do you think, dear?

#UnmannedVehiclesAreHere #AutonomousDriving #SelfDriving #UnmannedVehicles