2025 Review – Smart Expressway in China: From Experimentation to Industrial Scale -

In 2025, the construction of smart highways in China has clearly moved beyond its initial phase, which prioritized “cutting-edge technologies” and technological accumulation. The sector has now entered a new stage of large-scale development focused on pragmatic implementation, system integration, and value creation. Industry experts widely agree that this marks a decisive turning point—from pilot demonstrations to deep integration and widespread application.

1. A Rational Transition: From Technology Stacking to Value Creation

The current phase of development is defined by three fundamental transformations.

Deep integration as the core technological theme.
The application of technology is shifting from isolated devices or standalone systems toward the deep integration of multiple systems, including perception, communication, computing, and energy. The goal is to achieve efficient synergy across perception, decision-making, and control. Technological architectures are also evolving, moving from basic vehicle–road coordination toward an integrated vehicle–road–cloud framework.

Large-scale collaborative projects as a defining feature.
Interprovincial and network-wide collaborative projects are increasing significantly. These initiatives focus on establishing comprehensive control systems that break away from fragmented governance models based on isolated road sections and data silos.

Value-driven efficiency as an industry consensus.
The industry has decisively reoriented its priorities, shifting away from the pursuit of high-end and complex equipment toward tangible value creation for operators. Key objectives now include improving traffic flow, reducing operation and maintenance costs, and enhancing user experience. Integrated development concepts such as “transportation + energy” and “transportation + digital economy” are becoming widely adopted.

At the same time, disruptive technologies—particularly large AI language models—are reshaping the logic of software systems and digital infrastructure. The year 2026 will be critical in validating the real-world effectiveness of these applications. Meanwhile, hardware choices remain diverse, reflecting a landscape akin to “a hundred schools of thought,” guided by the principle of local adaptation and efficiency first.

2. Key Challenges: Cybersecurity and Governance Adaptation

Amid rapid progress, the sector faces two major challenges.

Urgent cybersecurity gaps.
As road networks become increasingly intelligent and interconnected, traditional fragmented and isolated cybersecurity protection models have proven inadequate. Establishing a proactive, AI-driven, network-wide collaborative defense system—shifting from passive emergency response to active early warning—has become essential to ensuring the stable operation of smart highway networks.

Misalignment between management mechanisms and technological innovation.
Many experts emphasize that the primary bottleneck for smart highways is not technology itself, but the deep adaptation of management processes, institutional frameworks, and governance mechanisms. Digital transformation is fundamentally a form of systemic management innovation. Without strong institutional support, even the most advanced technologies struggle to translate into real operational efficiency.

3. Future Outlook: Deeper Applications and Ecosystem Expansion

Over the next two years, smart highways will continue to evolve along the trajectory set in 2025, with progress expected across several dimensions.

At the technological level, the integration of communication technologies and large AI models will accelerate, enabling more precise road network perception, smarter decision-making, and faster responses. Perception and control models will increasingly shift toward real-time paradigms based on edge computing and localized control.

At the application level, key scenarios will be deployed at scale. Truck platooning, for instance, will transition from pilot projects to standardized operations, while intelligent toll stations and free-flow tolling models are set to fundamentally reshape existing toll systems. Applications will increasingly emphasize “small scenarios, big services” to address specific operational challenges.

At the enterprise and ecosystem level, a diversified business model combining core services and value-added services will gradually take shape, with continuous monetization of data assets. The industry is expected to build a more integrated and collaborative ecosystem spanning the entire value chain—from technology and construction to operations and services.

In summary, 2025 stands as a pivotal year for the development of smart highways in China, marking a shift toward authenticity and a renewed focus on value creation. The industry is increasingly centered on solving real-world problems and delivering measurable benefits. While challenges such as cybersecurity and institutional adaptation remain, the sector is steadily advancing toward its ultimate goal: enhancing managerial efficiency, enriching traveler experiences, and increasing operator revenues, thereby entering a new phase of large-scale, high-quality development.