(Yicai) May 24 -- Pony.ai is the only company in China so far to be granted a permit to carry out truck fleet autonomous driving tests between two cities after the Chinese self-driving startup recently received such a permit in Beijing after securing one in Guangzhou in November last year.

The latest approval allows Pony.ai to conduct truck fleet unmanned driving tests along the Beijing-Tianjin-Tanggu expressway and other road sections which will be a big step in supporting large cargo transport services powered by autonomous driving.

Pony.ai's test fleets use a '1+N’ format, with one lead unmanned truck followed by other trucks with Level-4 autonomous driving capabilities. This helps to significantly lower operating costs while enhancing transport efficiency. Regulations allow fleets with one lead vehicle followed by up to five autos.

The highway from Beijing to Tanggu allows for the demonstration of internet-connected vehicles as well as cross-regional recognition in order to realize freight transportation services using autonomous driving trucks.

Last month, Pony.ai, Sinotrans, and Sinotrans Logistics Development teamed up to launch commercial freight transport services using L4 autonomous driving trucks on round trips between Beijing and Tianjin. The first batch of goods transported were fast-moving consumer goods.

So far, Pony.ai's self-driving trucks have driven over five million kilometers in test scenarios. The unmanned trucks in commercial operations have driven more than 1.5 million km and carried almost 25 million ton-kilometers.

Editor: Kim Taylor