A single human sits in a lead cab on the Beijing–Tianjin–Tanggu Expressway. Behind them, heavy trucks follow in tight formation — empty cabs, no safety operators, Level 4 autonomy handling every steering input via vehicle-to-vehicle communication. This isn't a test track scenario. It's a permitted, cross-provincial operation. China's "1+N" platooning model isn't waiting for the perfect fully-driverless solution. It built a working one around regulations that already exist.
The architecture is straightforward. The lead truck carries a human driver who handles navigation, compliance, and edge-case judgment. Trailing trucks mirror its every move autonomously. Deployments target controlled, high-frequency environments first — smart ports, mining haul roads, fixed expressway freight corridors — where trip patterns are predictable enough that Level 4 systems can actually prove themselves.
Three companies hold the serious approvals, spanning ports, expressways, and mining corridors across multiple Chinese provinces.
Pony.ai became the first company approved for cross-provincial robotruck platooning in China, running convoys on the Jingjintang Expressway connecting Beijing, Tianjin, and Hebei. Its 2025 permits now allow trailing trucks to operate completely driver-out — a meaningful step beyond earlier requirements mandating safety personnel in every cab.
SANY paired its 4th-generation electric semi with Pony.ai technology in a "1+4" configuration aimed specifically at smart-port drayage operations, where repetitive short-haul movements make autonomous following trucks particularly effective.
KargoBot, backed by DiDi, holds L4 convoy approvals across four regions:
These include routes along the Beijing–Taipei Expressway and Daxing Airport Expressway. In Ordos, 100 Level 4 electric trucks running KargoBot systems have been delivered and are operating in convoy demonstration mode. The system, as SANY's rollout framing puts it, "pairs autonomy with human experience" — the lead driver handles edge cases while trailing trucks absorb the grinding repetition.
China is testing a different way to automate trucking.Instead of replacing every truck at once,one driver can lead a convoy while autonomous trucks follow behind.This kind of deployment could make freight automation arrive much earlier in controlled logistics sites than on roads pic.twitter.com/S0ZwAZ3lUw
— Boden | China Views (@BodenViews) August 17, 2026
The economics behind convoy platooning are difficult to dismiss once you see what's actually shifting in the labor model.
SANY's early pilots reportedly cut per-kilometer freight costs by 29% and pushed operating profit up by as much as 195%. Those numbers land differently when you understand what's underneath them. Five separate drivers collapse into one convoy operator — fewer hands on wheels, more eyes on dashboards. For overnight port transfers or monotonous mining haul roads where driver shortages are already acute, that math is hard to argue with.
Western autonomous vehicle programs continue pursuing full driverless deployment on complex public roads, consistently running into regulatory friction that slows commercialization. China's convoy approach keeps a human in the lead cab — satisfying oversight requirements — while trailing trucks quietly accumulate real-world Level 4 miles. Beijing's regulations already map the staged path from "safety operator onboard" to "fully unmanned," giving companies like Pony.ai and KargoBot a clear runway rather than a regulatory cliff. The audition is happening in real time.
First commercial batches are expected around 2026. If ports and mining corridors build the safety record regulators need, broader road approval becomes a logical next step rather than a distant aspiration. The convoy isn't the endgame. It's the proof.
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