(Yicai Global) Oct. 25 -- US self-driving truck firm Plus, which has a strong China focus, is linking arms with JD Technology, the fintech division of Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com, to explore integrated solutions for intelligent transportation, The Paper reported on Oct. 23.

The pair will leverage their respective strengths in autonomous driving technology and the Internet of Things to promote the development and commercialization of self-driving systems, the report said.

It is the latest in a series of recent moves by Silicon Valley-based Plus to better position itself in the autonomous driving field. In June, it completed the world’s first fully unmanned self-driving test for heavy trucks on the 33-kilometer-long Jiangsu Wufengshan smart highway specially designed for driverless vehicles.

It has already started mass production of its self-driving heavy-duty truck J7 L3, developed with Chinese truck maker FAW Jiefang. It has also delivered 1,000 sets of its PlusDrive autonomous driving systems equipped with the NVIDIA DRIVE Xavier computing platform to customers in the US, enabling long-distance logistics fleets.

Plus is working with Italian transport vehicle maker Iveco and US engine maker Cummins to develop natural gas-powered heavy-duty trucks and other future forms of low-emission heavy-duty trucks. It is also collaborating with Shanghai-based logistics firm CJ Rokin Logistics to start the first domestic smart heavy-duty truck operation line.

Plus, which has research and development centers in Beijing, Suzhou and Shanghai, is planning to go public on the New York Stock Exchange soon.

Editor: Kim Taylor