From groceries to late-night snacks, driverless delivery cars are rolling into Abu Dhabi’s Masdar City’s daily life

Abu Dhabi is running a very modern errand. The Integrated Transport Centre (Abu Dhabi Mobility) has kicked off a trial of autonomous delivery vehicles designed to shuttle orders around the city without a driver in the seat. The project sits under the supervision of the Smart and Autonomous Systems Council (SASC), in partnership with the Abu Dhabi Investment Office (ADIO), and brings together tech from K2 (via its subsidiary Autogo) and logistics know-how from EMX, the delivery arm of 7X. Think of it as a real-world dress rehearsal for smarter last-mile logistics.

The pilot is live in Masdar City, a fitting testbed given its walkable streets and clean-tech focus. The vehicles use AI-powered perception and navigation systems to move through urban environments, with ITC acting as the regulator overseeing safety and operations. Issuing an official licence plate for a self-driving delivery vehicle may sound bureaucratic, but it’s a crucial milestone, it means the technology is being woven into Abu Dhabi’s formal regulatory framework, not just demoed behind closed doors.

So what does this mean for you? In the short term, expect a controlled rollout confined to Masdar City while the systems, routes and hand-off points are tested. In the medium term, the partners say they’ll expand beyond Masdar and “cover wider public areas,” with full-scale commercial deployment expected in the coming months, opening the door to driverless drop-offs for groceries, parcels and meals across more neighbourhoods. The promise: quicker, safer, lower-emission deliveries that ease congestion by optimising routes and removing idle time.

Officials frame the trial as a building block in Abu Dhabi’s smart mobility strategy, which aims for 25% of all trips to use smart transport solutions by 2040. It follows earlier autonomous moves, like robotaxis in key districts and plugs into the broader SAVI (Smart and Autonomous Vehicle Industries) cluster’s plan to localise intelligent systems and infrastructure in the emirate. In other words, delivery bots today, a deeper homegrown autonomy ecosystem tomorrow.

“This is about more than a technical test,” said Dr Abdulla Hamad AlGhfeli, Acting Director General of Abu Dhabi Mobility, calling the pilot a step toward a smart, sustainable transport system that reduces emissions and improves quality of life. 7X chief Tariq Al Wahedi added that integrating autonomous delivery into the regulatory system is a strategic milestone for “next-generation smart logistics.” Expect more partners to join as the pilot scales and the network of approved routes grows.

For now, keep an eye out in Masdar City as you might spot a driverless courier gliding past. And if all goes to plan, that futuristic sight will soon feel like just another day in Abu Dhabi.