Plus, a self-driving truck startup splitting its operations between the U.S., China and Europe, announced on Thursday its participation in a commercial autonomous freight program piloted by SF Express, one of the world’s largest package delivery services providers, although Plus has been part of the scheme since its inception in December 2020.

Under the pilot program, autonomous trucks powered by PlusDrive, an automated driving system developed by Plus, have been deployed on two long-haul routes in China totaling 950 miles in length, Plus said in a statement.

The autonomous trucks, which still need human safety drivers to take control in case of an emergency, have driven almost 100,000 kilometers safely in the pilot program, with data indicating that the use of such rigs has helped save fuels by 20% and led to higher driver comfortability during the rides, according to Plus.

Plus said it has received more than 10,000 pre-orders for the PlusDrive system and that mass production will start this summer. It added that it plans to promote the large-scale use of its self-driving truck technology in the U.S., China and Europe over the next few years.

Earlier this month, five-year-old Plus announced its partnership with Nvidia to use the U.S. chipmaker’s Nvidia Drive Orin technology to power its new autonomous truck driving system slated to be launched in 2022 in the U.S., China and Europe.

Contact reporter Ding Yi (yiding@caixin.com)

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