November 18 – SANY TRUCK and Pony.ai have deepened their strategic partnership, announcing that the fourth-generation autonomous truck will achieve mass production development targeting a scale of thousands of units, with the first batch in operation next year. This milestone signals that China’s autonomous freight transportation is poised to enter the stage of large-scale commercial deployment.

As a core achievement of the deep technological integration between the two parties, this vehicle is built on SANY TRUCK's top-tier pure electric platform, equipped with a battery capacity exceeding 400 kWh. It reduces carbon emissions by approximately 60 tons per year, setting a new benchmark for low-carbon transformation in the industry. Zhou Wanchun, Vice President of SANY Group and General Manager of Domestic Sales & Marketing Company of SANY TRUCK, and Peng Jun, Founder and CEO of Pony.ai, attended and witnessed the announcement.

Comprehensive Redundancy: Strengthening the Safety Barrier

In terms of safety and reliability, the vehicle adopts SANY TRUCK's fully redundant steer-by-wire chassis design, covering six core systems: steering, braking, communication, power supply, computing, and sensors. Having passed rigorous multi-dimensional tests including electromagnetic compatibility and high/low temperature endurance, it establishes an all-round safety protection system, elevating the safety standards of autonomous freight transportation to an unprecedented industry level.

△ Unmanned road trial operation at Jiangmen High-tech Port

Platooning for Enhanced Efficiency and Cost Reduction

In operational efficiency, its "1+4" platooning solution (with a human-driven leading vehicle followed by four unmanned trucks) has demonstrated significant benefits in pilot scenarios: reducing freight cost per kilometer by 29% and increasing profit by 195%. This offers a replicable solution for smart logistics to lower costs and improve efficiency, supporting Sinotrans in perfecting the smart port ecosystem and advancing China’s smart ports to global benchmark status.

△ SANY TRUCK autonomous platooning test

Looking back at the partnership timeline, since the strategic cooperation began in 2022, SANY TRUCK's robust capabilities in steer-by-wire chassis and vehicle development have complemented Pony.ai's leading autonomous driving technology. Together, they achieved the world’s first application of “5G + Autonomous Driving + Electrification”integrated solution, marking a critical leap from R&D to mass production of autonomous heavy trucks.

△ World’s first “5G + Autonomous Driving + Electrification” implementation

Subsequently, the tripartite strategic alliance (SANY TRUCK + Pony.ai + Sinotrans) established a “Golden Triangle” model of “vehicle + technology + scenario,” serving as an exemplar of high-efficiency collaboration in the industry. This has laid a solid foundation in production capacity, technology, and application scenarios for next year’s mass production of thousands of units.

Mass Production Breakthrough Accelerates Logistics Transformation

With the upcoming mass production of the fourth-generation autonomous trucks, the industry is expected to have a rapid transition from “small-scale pilot operations” to “large-scale unmanned commercial operations.”

Through breakthroughs in technological innovation, green low-carbon performance, and commercial efficiency, the partnership will further solidify China’s leading position in the global autonomous freight sector. It will provide scalable, replicable solutions for the smart logistics industry, accelerating the digital, intelligent, and green transformation of the logistics sector.

Reprinted from SANY TRUCK WeChat Official Account