Autonomous trucks gaining ground

Commercialization of autonomous trucks is gaining impetus as tech giants and self-driving startups are ramping up efforts to conduct road tests and mass-produce autonomous heavy-duty trucks, industry experts said.

Chinese tech giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd announced in June that it had received approval to test its Level 4 self-driving trucks, without a driver behind the steering wheel, on open roads in Deqing county, Zhejiang province.

Level 4 means a high level of autonomy, in which a vehicle can drive by itself under most circumstances without a human backup driver. It is one level below Level 5, which is generally described as full automation, able to drive by itself in all conditions.