Alibaba granted open road test license for L4 autonomous trucks

Beijing (Gasgoo)- Alibaba announced that it was granted one of the first two licenses of driverless L4 autonomous driving truck road tests in China by the government of Deqing, Zhejiang Province. 

Photo credit: Alibaba Group

The license gave Alibaba the permission to conduct open road tests with an empty driver’s seat in the designated area of Deqing, including partial highways, with the L4 autonomous trucks developed by the conglomerate’s Damo Academy, the “Da Man Lv” (the big donkey). 

According to the technology director of Damo Academy’s autonomous driving lab, Chen Junbo, the road test license from Deqing will help Alibaba accelerate the R&D process of its L4 self-driving trucks, driving its vehicles to open roads and highways. 

In fact, Alibaba has been exploring the R&D and application of autonomous driving technologies in the logistics field. Leveraging the advanced technology from Damo Academy and the logistics resources from Alibaba-affiliated Cainiao package delivery service, the group introduced its first self-driving delivery vehicle, the Xiao Man Lv (little donkey) in 2020. The vehicle features L4 autonomous driving functions, serving as the “last-mile delivery” vehicle for packages, food, and groceries. By the end of March 2022, the Xiao Man Lv has accumulated over 10 million delivery orders, refreshing the industry’s record.