Pony.ai, an autonomous driving technology company, has announced its partnership with Sany Heavy Truck (Sany), a heavy equipment manufacturer.
“Integrating Pony.ai’s core autonomous driving technologies with the capabilities of Sany enables our joint venture to create a successful intelligent truck and logistics ecosystem for L4 autonomous trucking,” said James Peng, Pony.ai’s CEO and co-founder.
The joint venture plans to begin with limited robotruck deliveries in 2022 and 2023. Mass production of the L4 truck is expected to start in 2024, with eventual mass production planned for 10,000 trucks annually.
According to Pony.ai, the first prototype has already been road tested. The vehicle portfolio is also set to include a mix of new energy vehicles (NEVs).
In June, Pony.ai released its autonomous driving controller (ADC) designed for mass production.
The pair claims that consumers worldwide will benefit from the development of commercial-scale L4 trucking, which is designed to support supply chain resilience, cheaper goods, improved road safety and reduced greenhouse gas emissions.
According to Pony.ai, autonomous trucks can save 10-20% of the energy use of manually driven heavy vehicles. By 2030, the partnership aims to cut carbon emissions by more than one million tonnes.
