{"slug": "gac-starts-mass-producing-level-4-robotrucks-in-china", "title": "GAC starts mass-producing Level 4 robotrucks in China", "summary": "GAC Commercial Vehicle rolled its first mass-production T9 Robotrucks off the line on Oct. 29 at its Conghua district plant in Guangzhou, carrying a Level 4 self-driving system from Pony.ai. The companies plan road tests in 2027 with T9s in use by the hundreds, then will explore selling, leasing or freight services in 2028-2029 with production targets in the thousands, according to Jiemian and Guangzhou Daily. Pony.ai said the truck's sensor kit of nine lidars, three radars and 13 cameras costs 70% less than its previous generation, and its robotruck revenue rose 36.0% year over year to US$23.5 million in the first half of 2026.", "body_md": "[Autonomous fleets](https://asia-tech-news.ghost.io/tag/topic-autonomous-fleets/)\n\n# GAC starts mass-producing Level 4 Pony.ai robotrucks\n\nRoad tests are planned for 2027, but sales or leasing won't take place until 2028.\n\nGAC Commercial Vehicle (广汽领程), the commercial-vehicle arm of GAC Group (广汽集团), rolled its first mass-production T9 Robotrucks off the line on Oct. 29 at its plant in Guangzhou's Conghua district. The battery-electric heavy truck carries a Level 4 (L4) self-driving system from Pony.ai (小马智行), a Chinese robotaxi and robotruck company, built to drive with no human driver in set conditions. No report we read gave a count or named a buyer.\n\nThe first trucks go into testing and operation, aimed at long-haul, dedicated-route and port freight, [Guangzhou Daily (广州日报) reported](https://news.dayoo.com/finance/202610/29/171077_55018105.htm?ref=asia-tech-news.ghost.io). The companies plan road tests in 2027, aiming for T9s in use by the hundreds. In 2028-2029 they will explore selling or leasing the trucks or offering freight services, and aim for production in the thousands, [Jiemian (界面新闻) reported](https://www.jiemian.com/article/15263214.html?ref=asia-tech-news.ghost.io).\n\n[Pony.ai](https://pony.ai/?ref=asia-tech-news.ghost.io) supplies the truck with a kit of nine lidars, three radars and 13 cameras whose parts cost 70% less than its previous generation's, it [said when it unveiled the truck](https://blog.pony.ai/pony-ai-unveils-new-gen-4-robotruck-in-collaboration-with-gac-commercial-vehicle/?ref=asia-tech-news.ghost.io) in September. [GAC Group](https://www.gacgroup.com/en?ref=asia-tech-news.ghost.io) and Pony.ai have worked together on robotaxis since 2018, and [GAC Commercial Vehicle](https://www.gaccv.com/?ref=asia-tech-news.ghost.io) signed an agreement with Pony.ai in April to extend the partnership to trucks.\n\nThe T9 is one model in Pony.ai's fourth-generation robotruck line, which has entered mass production, the company said in its [interim report](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/0001969302/000110465926109772/tm2625374d1_ex99-1.pdf?ref=asia-tech-news.ghost.io) for the six months to June 30. The report doesn't say which model, but driverless trucks from that line already work commercially at Mawan Port in Shenzhen, alongside human-driven vehicles. Pony.ai's robotruck revenue rose 36.0% from a year earlier to US$23.5 million in the first half, mostly because of growth in its freight services, the company said.\n\nDriver-assistance systems are already in commercial service on China’s long-haul truck routes, but they are a different class of technology: Level 2 systems, which assist a driver who stays at the wheel and remains responsible for the vehicle. ZYT (卓驭科技), a Shenzhen maker of such systems, says several hundred trucks with its Level 2 highway assistance now run long-haul express routes, [as we reported](https://asia-tech-news.ghost.io/only-one-of-zyts-seven-vehicle-partners-has-trucks-running/). Pony.ai’s L4 trucks — built to drive themselves within approved areas — numbered in the hundreds on routes across China in September, [IT Home (IT之家) reported](https://www.ithome.com/1/002/291.htm?ref=asia-tech-news.ghost.io), most still carrying a human safety driver, with some running fully driverless.\n\n*Sources:* *界面新闻 Jiemian**,* *广州日报 Guangzhou Daily**,* *Pony.ai**,* *Pony AI Inc. 2026 interim report (SEC Form 6-K exhibit)**, 盖世汽车 Gasgoo* *[1]**,* *[2]**,* *IT之家 IT Home*\n\n*Editor: Ian Lamont*", "url": "https://wpnews.pro/news/gac-starts-mass-producing-level-4-robotrucks-in-china", "canonical_source": "https://asia-tech-news.ghost.io/gac-starts-mass-producing-level-4-pony-ai-robotrucks/", "published_at": "2026-10-31 14:48:59+00:00", "updated_at": "2026-10-31 15:22:07.043147+00:00", "lang": "en", "topics": ["autonomous-vehicles", "robotics", "ai-products"], "entities": ["GAC Commercial Vehicle", "GAC Group", "Pony.ai", "T9 Robotruck", "Guangzhou Daily", "Jiemian", "Mawan Port", "ZYT"], "also_reported_by": [], "alternates": {"html": "https://wpnews.pro/news/gac-starts-mass-producing-level-4-robotrucks-in-china", "markdown": "https://wpnews.pro/news/gac-starts-mass-producing-level-4-robotrucks-in-china.md", "text": "https://wpnews.pro/news/gac-starts-mass-producing-level-4-robotrucks-in-china.txt", "jsonld": "https://wpnews.pro/news/gac-starts-mass-producing-level-4-robotrucks-in-china.jsonld"}}