Pony.ai, SANY to mass produce autonomous heavy-duty trucks

Nansha autonomous driving company Pony.ai and SANY, a company focused on the manufacturing of smart internet-connected trucks, announced that the two parties will establish a joint venture to build a high-end autonomous driving heavy-duty truck brand on July 28.

The two parties will deeply integrate the "virtual driver" technical capabilities of Pony.ai and the technical advantages of SANY in the field of vehicle development to jointly define and develop vehicle-grade, L4 high-end intelligent heavy-duty truck products for future smart logistics. L4 automation means the vehicle can drive by itself under most circumstances without a human backup driver, thus propelling future trunk logistics transportation.

The joint venture plans to start small-scale mass production and delivery in 2022, with an eye toward full-capacity mass production in 2024. The annual output is expected to exceed 10,000 vehicles in a few years. 

"SANY has the industry-leading heavy-duty truck manufacturing technology, and is pioneering the deployment of new energy heavy-duty trucks, intelligent networking, and other key fields. Pony.ai has key technologies in the field of autonomous driving and has started exploring the field of smart logistics. The cooperation between the two parties will improve the smart logistics ecosystem," said Peng Jun, co-founder, and CEO of Pony.ai.

"The cooperation between the two parties is a combination of powerful forces, which will bring revolutionary changes to the logistics industry, greatly improve logistics efficiency and vehicle safety, and reduce logistics costs and drivers' labor intensity. SANY will work with Pony.ai to create iconic application scenarios and quickly implement them into real operations," said Liang Linhe, chairman of SANY.

By opening a new form of cooperation with partners, Pony.ai has gradually built a smart logistics "golden triangle," which includes autonomous driving companies, logistics companies, and heavy-duty truck manufacturers.

Pony.ai has core autonomous driving technology, which is the key to enabling logistics and future heavy-duty truck production. Logistics companies have accumulated rich transportation experience and customers, while heavy-duty truck manufacturers have the technology to develop and manufacture complete vehicles.

The complementary advantages of the three will form a safe and efficient future smart logistics ecosystem that maximizes the social value and economic benefits of autonomous driving technology.

According to the commercial operation experience of Pony.ai's Robotruck, which boasts reasonable vehicle control and path planning, energy can be reduced by 10 to 20 percent compared with traditional trucks.

A heavy-duty truck co-developed by Pony.ai and SANY. [Photo/WeChat account: nanshafabu]