(Yicai) March 6 -- Shares of Yunnei Power surged by their daily trading limit after the Chinese diesel engine manufacturer said its autonomous logistics vehicle project has received road test licenses in Kunming, where the firm is based.

Yunnei [SHE: 000903] jumped 10 percent to close at CNY3.69 (51 US cents) a share today. The stock has surged 48 percent since the end of the Chinese New Year holiday. The broader Shenzhen market added 1.8 percent today.

Yunnei's project secured 200 of the 205 local intelligent connected vehicle road test permits issued by Kunming's government yesterday, the company announced late on the same day. The firm will start road testing its Level-4 self-driving logistics vans in the city, accelerating the business' commercialization, it added.

Last September, Yunnei inked a deal with Zelos Technology, a Chinese autonomous logistics vehicles maker, becoming the sole regional manufacturer of the Suzhou-based firm's intelligent delivery robots in Yunnan, Guizhou, and Sichuan provinces, as well as the exclusive sales and project operator in Yunnan. It also agreed to be responsible for building and operating local test and project management systems.

Yunnei will establish manufacturing and testing centers in southwestern China to mass-produce L4 autonomous delivery robots and support communication and sensor equipment to achieve the Zelos deal goals, it noted, adding that it will also set up project monitoring centers, simulation platforms, and management systems.

Established in 2021, Zelos launched the world's first mass-produced L4 self-driving urban logistics vehicle in 2023 and has already begun scaling up commercial operations. Its vans have so far obtained regional road testing permits in 29 Chinese provinces and are used for autonomous cargo delivery. 

Editor: Martin Kadiev