---
title: "Adorable Self-Driving Vans Are Disinfecting Roads in China"
description: "Driverless delivery vehicle startup Neolix is raking in new customers as cities in China are under full lockdown due to the coronavirus outbreak."
date: "2020-03-09"
modified: "2020-03-09"
authors:
  - name: "Victor Tangermann"
    job_title: "Senior Editor"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/adorable-self-driving-vans-are-disinfecting-roads-in-china"
categories:
  - "Advanced Transport"
  - "Self-Driving Vehicles"
tags:
  - "Autonomous Cars"
  - "autonomous delivery"
  - "china"
  - "covid-19"
  - "the digest"
  - "virus"
---

# Adorable Self-Driving Vans Are Disinfecting Roads in China

![Driverless delivery vehicle startup Neolix is raking in new customers as cities in China are under full lockdown due to the coronavirus outbreak.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/adorable-self-driving-vans-disinfecting-roads-china.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: Neolix\</em\>*

## Driverless in Seattle

Driverless delivery vehicle startup Neolix is raking in new customers as cities in China are under full lockdown due to the coronavirus outbreak. The company has gotten orders for 200 tiny robotic vehicles, up from 125 since last May, [according to *Bloomberg*](<https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-03-08/they-won-t-catch-the-virus-so-chinese-robovan-maker-s-sales-jump>), including commerce juggernauts Alibaba and JD.com.

The company's small autonomous delivery vehicles have proven extremely useful during the virus outbreak: they're capable of delivering medical supplies, doing food runs for overworked health workers — they can even spray disinfectant in city streets, [according to *CNET*](<https://www.cnet.com/roadshow/news/coronavirus-self-driving-delivery-vehicles-china/>).

So useful, even the government is willing to cover 60 percent of the cost of each vehicle — and not just from Neolix, but from a host of other similar companies in the country as well, *Bloomberg* reports.

## Fast Expansion

"The industry has entered into a fast expansion phase because of the virus," Neolix founder Yu Enyuan told *Bloomberg*.

Their big advantage: while delivery drivers are quarantined or sick at home, the adorable autonomous vans keep driving. "People realize that such vehicles can get things done when it is risky for a human being to do so," Yu added.

**READ MORE:** [Driverless Delivery Van Startup Sees Demand Surge Amid Outbreak](<https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-03-08/they-won-t-catch-the-virus-so-chinese-robovan-maker-s-sales-jump>) \[*Bloomberg*\]

**More on the virus:** *[Here’s How Bad the U.S. Coronavirus Testing Crisis Really Is](<https://futurism.com/neoscope/coronavirus-testing-nyc-covid19>)*

## Author
I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida.

### Author social links  
[Bluesky](<https://bsky.app/profile/vtanger.bsky.social>)