Pony.ai has unveiled a new Level 4 autonomous heavy-duty truck developed with GAC Commercial Vehicle, with volume production planned to begin later in 2026.
The vehicle made its global debut in Hannover, Germany, on 14 September. It is based on GAC Commercial Vehicle’s T9 battery-electric heavy-duty truck platform and is part of Pony.ai’s fourth-generation (Gen-4) Robotruck range.
The companies intend to deploy the vehicle in long-haul freight, dedicated-route logistics and port transport.
The truck combines Pony.ai’s Gen-4 Level 4 autonomous driving system with a fully redundant drive-by-wire chassis developed by GAC Commercial Vehicle. Pony.ai says the steering, braking, communications, power supply, computing and sensing systems use redundant architectures designed to support autonomous operation.
The vehicle’s autonomous driving kit includes nine lidar sensors, three millimetre-wave radars and 13 cameras, providing 360-degree sensing. The truck also uses the same domain controller as Pony.ai’s seventh-generation Robotaxi platform.
According to Pony.ai, the bill-of-materials cost of the autonomous driving kit has been reduced by 70% compared with the previous generation. The company also expects transportation costs per tonne-kilometre to fall by 30%.
The T9 is a battery-electric heavy-duty truck, with Pony.ai combining its energy-efficiency algorithms with the vehicle’s aerodynamic design. The truck’s drag coefficient of 0.4 Cd, alongside Pony.ai’s software, is expected to reduce energy consumption by 10% compared with conventional trucks.
The vehicle is intended for applications including long-distance freight, port logistics and dedicated logistics routes.
Pony.ai and GAC Commercial Vehicle signed a strategic cooperation agreement in April 2026. Vehicle testing and validation were completed within five months of the agreement.
He Xing, Vice President of Pony.ai and Head of the company’s Robotruck business, said:The global debut of the T9 autonomous heavy-duty truck with GAC Commercial Vehicle marks another important step in accelerating the mass production and commercial deployment of Pony.ai’s Robotrucks. Looking ahead, we will deepen our collaboration with GAC Commercial Vehicle, continue advancing volume production and deployment of the T9 Robotrucks, and bring our jointly developed autonomous trucking solutions to markets around the world.
Pony.ai began developing autonomous trucks in 2018 and now has a Robotruck portfolio covering heavy- and light-duty vehicles. The company is working towards mass production of its Gen-4 Robotrucks and is developing applications across long-haul freight, bulk commodity transport, port logistics and urban delivery.
Pony.ai plans to expand its Robotruck operations internationally, with Europe and the Middle East among the markets it is targeting over the next two years. It currently has Robotaxi operations and partnerships in markets including the UAE, Qatar, Croatia, Luxembourg, Singapore and South Korea.
The GAC Commercial Vehicle partnership extends Pony.ai’s existing relationship with GAC Group from autonomous passenger vehicles into heavy-duty freight transport.
