A convoy of autonomous heavy-duty trucks recently set off from Ordos' Qipanjing Industrial Park, traveling more than 400 kilometers across grasslands and desert terrain to the Ganqimaodu Port on the China-Mongolia border.

Unlike conventional freight fleets, the convoy operated with only two safety supervisors in the lead vehicle, while the remaining trucks were driven entirely by autonomous systems.

The operation is part of China's first and currently only approved cross-city commercial pilot program for long-distance autonomous truck platooning.

Over the past four years, autonomous driving company KargoBot has established a large-scale fleet in Ordos, helping the city pioneer a new model for intelligent freight transport that combines safety, efficiency, and commercial viability.

At the core of the system is KargoBot's hybrid intelligent platooning technology. An L2-assisted lead truck equipped with safety personnel guides up to five L4 autonomous heavy trucks. Using lidar, cameras, and AI-powered logistics models, the convoy maintains stable and precise operation over long distances.

According to the company, this technology has reduced labor costs by 80 percent, lowered energy consumption through reduced aerodynamic drag, and cut overall operating costs by 20 percent through intelligent dispatching and shorter waiting times.

The rapid deployment of autonomous freight transport has been supported by strong policy backing.

In 2024, Ordos became the only city in Northwest China selected for both national intelligent transportation and vehicle-road-cloud integration pilot programs. By the end of 2025, nearly 2,000 roadside smart infrastructure units had been upgraded across the city, supported by a unified management platform for connected vehicles.

Ordos then implemented Northwest China's first local regulation dedicated to intelligent connected vehicles on Jan 1 of this year, covering industrial development, infrastructure construction, and safety management.