(Yicai Global) June 8 -- Utopilot, the self-driving technology arm of China’s SAIC Motor, has started a pilot transportation project in Anhui province using level four autonomous heavy-duty trucks built together with Luan Steel Holding.

The project, which kicked off earlier this week, demonstrates the use of the self-driving trucks on the steelmaker’s own private roads in Luan in Anhui.

SAIC will provide more than 30 new energy trucks equipped with Utopilot's self-developed smart driving system, Yicai Global learned, providing Luan Steel with L4 autonomous transport for over 6 million tons of materials.

With the help of Utopilot's self-driving algorithm, the trucks can work around the clock without a break in theory, and are capable of autonomous planning, driving, and collision avoidance.

They can be put to work for at least 20 hours a day at a conservative estimate, which is 25 percent longer than regular trucks, said Zhang Xianhong, chief architect and deputy general manager of Utopilot’s smart driving center, adding that they also consume 10 percent less energy.

Utopilot has been working with Shanghai's Yangshan Port on a similar pilot project. The trucks there have covered more than 4.7 million kilometers, transporting over 169,000 twenty-foot equivalent units between the world’s busiest port and the surrounding area.

Commercializing the use of robotrucks by industrial firms is thought to be an easier proposition than getting people to use robotaxis, and that is a major reason why self-driving tech developers are competing in the field of heavy-duty trucks.

Editors: Tang Shihua, Martin Kadiev