CUPERTINO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Plus.ai (www.plus.ai), a leading provider of self-driving trucking technology, today announced a joint venture with FAW Jiefang, China’s oldest and largest truck manufacturer, to develop autonomous trucks for China. The exclusive partnership is also launching its first product, the world’s first production-class L2 semi-autonomous truck, which is built on Plus.ai’s L4 autonomous technology stack.
The formation of the joint venture is the result of a strong partnership between Plus.ai and FAW Jiefang, which share a vision for smart transportation. The two companies have been working together over the last two years to address the growing demands for trucking in China, where over 6.1 trillion metric ton-kilometers of freight are moved by a fleet of more than 5 million heavy-duty trucks and over 14 million light and medium trucks. The FAW J7 L2 truck is the joint venture’s first commercial product, while the product roadmap includes a full L4 heavy truck in the next three to five years.
“We are extremely pleased to cement our partnership with FAW Jiefang in order to bring Plus.ai’s autonomous trucking technology to the massive trucking market in China. This exclusive relationship is a testament to the technological prowess of Plus.ai and our ability to execute with partners like FAW Jiefang,” said Shawn Kerrigan, COO and Co-founder of Plus.ai.
“We are thrilled that FAW Jiefang and Plus.ai have joined forces to form a joint venture focused on developing intelligent transportation solutions for autonomous trucking," said Hu Hanjie, Chairman of FAW Jiefang.
Built on Plus.ai’s L4 full-stack autonomous driving technology and tested extensively through pilots in the U.S. and China, the FAW J7 L2 offers semi-autonomy and provides robust safety improvements and fuel optimization. Key benefits include the ability to automate driving activities to reduce human error and driver fatigue. The FAW J7 L2 was created to address the desire of shippers and fleet operators to start using the semi-autonomous technology that is available today before L4 trucks become commercialized in the near future.
About Plus.ai
Plus.ai is a world leader in self-driving truck technology. Headquartered in Silicon Valley with R&D offices in China, it was founded in 2016 by a group of serial entrepreneurs and industry veterans with over 20 years of experience in high tech and artificial intelligence. Plus.ai specializes in providing full-stack self-driving technology to enable large scale autonomous commercial transport. Plus.ai is currently working with some of the leading truck manufacturers, largest shippers, and top fleet operators in the U.S. and China.
