Pony.ai has announced that volume production is scheduled to begin later this year on a new model in its Gen-4 robotruck line-up, built on GAC Commercial Vehicle’s T9 battery electric heavy-duty truck platform. The vehicles will be deployed in long-haul freight, dedicated-route logistics and port transportation.
The model integrates Pony.ai’s Gen-4 L4 autonomous trucking system with GAC Commercial Vehicle’s fully redundant drive-by-wire chassis. Its steering, braking, communications, power supply, computing and sensing systems all feature fully redundant architectures to support safe operation across a wide range of conditions.
The vehicle is equipped with a fully automotive-grade autonomous driving kit comprising nine lidars, three millimeter-wave radars and 13 cameras, providing 360° sensing coverage with no blind spots. It uses the same domain controller as Pony.ai’s seventh-generation robotaxis. The bill-of-materials cost of the agent development kit (ADK) has been reduced by 70% compared with the previous generation, while transportation costs per ton-kilometer are expected to fall by 30%.
Pony.ai’s energy-efficiency algorithms, combined with the T9’s ultra-low drag coefficient of 0.4 Cd, are expected to reduce energy consumption by 10% compared with conventional trucks, supporting smarter, greener and more efficient freight operations.
“The global debut of the T9 autonomous heavy-duty truck with GAC Commercial Vehicle marks another important step in accelerating the mass production and commercial deployment of Pony.ai’s robotrucks,” said He Xing, vice president of Pony.ai and head of the company’s robotruck business. “Looking ahead, we will deepen our collaboration with GAC Commercial Vehicle, continue advancing volume production and deployment of the T9 robotrucks and bring our jointly developed autonomous trucking solutions to markets around the world.”
Pony.ai and GAC Commercial Vehicle signed a strategic cooperation agreement on April 16. Within five months, the companies completed vehicle testing and validation ahead of the model’s formal launch. This accelerated development process was supported by Pony.ai’s autonomous driving expertise, together with GAC Commercial Vehicle’s automotive engineering and manufacturing capabilities.
The company is advancing its Gen-4 robotrucks toward mass production while working with vehicle manufacturers and logistics operators across long-haul freight, bulk commodity transportation, port logistics and urban delivery.
Pony.ai also plans to expand its robotruck business internationally, including entering markets in Europe and the Middle East over the next two years. The company intends to build on the technology, commercial experience and partner-led approach developed through its operations in China, as well as the overseas operating experience of its robotaxi business.
In related news, Pony AI and Verne begin fully driverless robotaxi trials in Zagreb