(Yicai Global) Sept. 28 -- China's e-commerce giant JD.com Inc. [NASDAQ:JD] has developed unmanned vans through its cooperation agreements with SAIC Motor Corp.'s [SHA:600104] Maxus brand and Dongfeng Motor Group Co. [HKG:0489], specifically for the e-commerce sector, Changjiang News reported on Sept. 28.

The vans are the first of their kind designed for China's online retail sector.

The autonomous vehicles, which follow planned routes, are made to travel through express sorting centers and delivery terminals, transport goods, slow down automatically and park precisely without human control.

They are pure-electric vehicles and are equipped with radars, sensors, high-definition maps and positioning systems that allow them to sense obstacles 150 meters away.

SAIC Maxus and Dongfeng Motor Corp. are industry leaders in the commercial vehicle market, and JD will increase cooperation related to research, development and manufacturing with them in the near future.

Unmanned vans, planes and product-distribution robots will play leading roles in future urban logistics to form an integrated intelligent system, the report added.