The autonomous heavy-duty truck sector is experiencing a fresh wave of competition as new players from the passenger vehicle advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) market pivot to commercial logistics, intensifying the battle for a multi-trillion yuan market that industry leaders say is approaching large-scale deployment.

Companies including Momenta and Zhuoyu, both prominent in passenger vehicle ADAS, have recently announced their entry into autonomous trucking, targeting long-haul logistics and port transportation. Their move leverages technical expertise and ecosystem resources developed in passenger vehicles to capture opportunities in what remains a largely untapped market segment.

Established listed companies are simultaneously doubling down. Qianfang Technology has increased investment in long-haul autonomous logistics operations, further fueling market enthusiasm. The convergence of market demand, technological advancement, and policy support has positioned the sector at what industry participants describe as the eve of commercial-scale application.

However, early movers like Plus have spent years building competitive moats through mass production capabilities, full-stack technology integration, and operational experience that new entrants may find difficult to breach. The question now is whether fresh capital and cross-sector expertise can reshape an industry where first-mover advantages appear substantial.

Trillion-Yuan Market Takes Shape

China's long-haul logistics market has reached 9.18 trillion yuan ($1.27 trillion) in size, accounting for over 70% of inter-regional goods movement, making it what Plus describes as a rare high-value autonomous driving application scenario. The company argues that long-haul logistics—characterized by relatively fixed routes, high standardization, and clear economic value—represents the most commercially viable use case for Level 4 autonomous driving.

The next three to five years constitute a critical window for autonomous long-haul logistics to transition from demonstration operations to commercial scale, according to Plus. Policy momentum is building. Since late 2024, China has issued multiple supportive documents including the Action Plan for Reducing Costs and Improving Quality and Efficiency in Transportation and Logistics, designating autonomous trucks as a priority deployment area. Multiple regions have opened highways and urban roads for testing, while platform companies such as Sichuan Port Investment have initiated pilot commercial operations aimed at establishing replicable business models.

New energy heavy-duty truck adoption is accelerating demand. In December 2025, sales reached 45,300 units, up 198% year-on-year, with market penetration exceeding 50%—both record highs. Full-year 2025 sales totaled 231,100 units, a 182% increase from 2024.

The industry faces structural challenges that autonomous technology directly addresses. Long-haul logistics suffers from persistent driver shortages and high accident rates linked to overloading and fatigue. Traditional heavy trucks operate effectively only 8-10 hours daily due to regulatory limits and human physiological constraints, resulting in vehicle utilization rates below 40%—a sharp contradiction with logistics companies' demands for operational efficiency.

Research from Gaogong Intelligent Automotive Research Institute projects that Level 4 autonomous penetration in closed scenarios such as ports and mines will exceed 30% in 2026, while Level 3/Level 4 penetration in long-haul trucking could surpass 30% by 2030. Commercial vehicles, particularly heavy trucks, are following a deployment pattern that begins with active safety features, diverges across application scenarios, and sees overlapping adoption of assisted and autonomous driving technologies.

Incumbent Advantages Meet New Competition

The autonomous trucking race has evolved beyond pure technology contests into comprehensive battles encompassing engineering capability, commercialization, and ecosystem development. Plus, as an early mover, has constructed end-to-end advantages spanning technology, mass production, and operations that represent formidable barriers for new entrants.

In 2021, Plus partnered with FAW Jiefang to launch the J7 Super Truck, the industry's first road-licensed intelligent heavy-duty vehicle. In 2023, it co-developed the K7+ intelligent truck with JAC Motors, featuring the industry's first forward-redundant steering system. The company has delivered over 100 vehicles to leading logistics customers including ZTO Express and Ane Logistics, establishing an operational network across core economic zones while maintaining a zero-accident record.

As of 2026, Plus has collaborated with multiple OEMs including Sinotruk and Dongfeng Liuzhou Motor to produce various intelligent assisted driving trucks. In 2025 alone, it delivered hundreds of units to top logistics firms including JD.com and SF Express, creating a virtuous cycle of mass delivery, data feedback, and technology iteration. This has yielded mature experience in front-loaded integration and significant first-mover advantages in mass production.

Since its 2018 founding, Plus has focused exclusively on autonomous trucking, building a full-stack technology system covering perception, prediction, decision-making, and control. The company developed the SSR end-to-end autonomous driving framework and established the DualBEV technical route in bird's-eye-view vision. Its research has been accepted at top international conferences including ECCV and ICLR.

Leveraging its self-developed technology stack, Plus completed China's first warehouse-to-warehouse Level 4 fully driverless truck operation test and pioneered mass production delivery of Level 2+ front-loaded intelligent assisted driving trucks. This dual-track model—pursuing Level 4 development alongside Level 2+ mass production—generates massive real-world data from production vehicles that continuously accelerates algorithm iteration and maturation.

Plus recently obtained Suzhou's permit for driverless intelligent connected vehicle demonstration applications, marking a critical transition from testing to operational demonstration. The company has also secured ISO/SAE 21434:2021 automotive cybersecurity CSMS process management certification, becoming one of few Chinese companies meeting international standards across functional safety, quality management, and cybersecurity—fortifying safety foundations for technology deployment and commercial operations.

Industry observers note that new entrants' core advantage lies in transferable technology and ecosystem resources from passenger vehicle ADAS, enabling rapid partnerships with OEMs and shortened initial deployment cycles. However, autonomous trucking differs fundamentally from passenger vehicle assistance in application scenarios, and the "technology-production-scenario" triangle that incumbents have constructed proves difficult to dismantle quickly.

The autonomous trucking battlefield has shifted from laboratories and test tracks into the deep waters of real freight operations. Success will belong to those who can precisely align with operational realities, achieve efficient coordination between technology and mass production, and rapidly build commercial loops and ecosystem networks. Plus, through years of focused development, has completed mass production deployment and commercial validation, securing first-mover advantages in what represents both an efficiency revolution and safety upgrade for the logistics industry—while providing a replicable model for China's autonomous trucking sector.