(Yicai Global) July 28 -- Pony.ai and Chinese engineering giant Sany Heavy Truck are joining forces to produce driverless heavy-duty trucks and first deliveries should be ready before the end of the year, the Chinese self-driving tech startup said today.

The pair will set up a joint venture for the research and development, production and sales of Level-4 unmanned heavy-duty trucks, Pony.ai said. Level 4 is one level below fully autonomous, when the vehicle can drive on its own and only needs human intervention in some situations.

Small-scale deliveries should begin this year, and mass production in 2024, the Guangzhou, southern Guangdong province-based company said. Annual output should exceed 10,000 units in a few years’ time.

The unmanned trucks will integrate Pony.ai’s autonomous driving controller, powered by the NVIDIA DRIVE Orin system-on-a-chip, and Sany Heavy Truck’s strengths in wire-controlled chassis and vehicle development. The pair’s first model has already started road tests.

Pony.ai, which runs R&D centers in Guangzhou, Beijing and Shanghai as well as the US’ Silicon Valley, already has a number of licenses for the testing and operating of self-driving vehicles in different areas of China and the US. It has also recently taken steps to enter smart logistics. In April it teamed up with logistics giant Sinotrans to build a smart transport platform with self-driving technologies at its core.

Editor: Kim Taylor