A pedestrian walks past a 5G promotion board. [Photo by Su Yang/For China Daily]

JINAN - An automobile manufacturing base in East China's Shandong province has officially begun production of 5G-based, driverless new energy cars for commercial use.

The first smart new-energy vehicle for logistics usage rolled off the production line Saturday at the base in Laiwu District in Jinan, the provincial capital.

Invested by Allcheer Intelligent Automobile and built by China Construction Electric Power Construction Co Ltd, the first phase of the manufacturing base is able to produce 100,000 smart new-energy vehicles a year.

The base has a construction area of about 130,000 square meters.