GUANGZHOU, China — Chinese language autonomous driving start-up WeRide has partnered with a high carmaker and supply firm to launch a self-driving cargo van.

The strategic partnership between WeRide, automaker Jiangling Motors (JMC) and supply agency ZTO Specific, goals to commercialize and mass produce the “Robovan” for city logistics.

Nissan-backed WeRide makes autonomous driving techniques for numerous automobiles. Since 2019, it has been testing robotaxis, or autonomous cabs, on the streets of Guangzhou, China the place it’s headquartered. The corporate opened the service to members of the general public final 12 months in restricted areas of the town.

The corporate has additionally been testing a self-driving bus which it calls the Robobus. The testing of those automobiles has helped it develop the Robovan.

“We discover the boundary between passenger automobile and concrete logistics automobile is vanishing,” Tony Han, CEO of WeRide, instructed CNBC on Thursday. “It is an autonomous driving automobile. In case you put a seat there it may possibly function a robotaxi automobile. In case you put a cupboard there it’s actually a logistics automobile.”

“These two functions [robotaxi and logistics] can share a expertise and each of them would possibly generate probably important quantity income and revenue. Why do not we do each?” Han mentioned.

WeRide will present the autonomous driving system for the Robovan, JMC will deal with manufacturing, whereas ZTO will deploy the automobiles for his or her logistics operations.

Han mentioned the corporate will probably arrange two or three places to do Robovan exams and enhance the efficiency of the automobile. As soon as these pilot tasks are accomplished, the Robovan may be rolled out at a big scale. Han declined to offer a timeline for this however mentioned he expects “tens of hundreds” of the automobiles to be deployed sooner or later.

WeRide is one in all China’s autonomous driving start-ups, valued at round $3.3 billion. It competes with firms together with Baidu and Pony.ai. It has been increasing shortly and earlier this 12 months acquired an autonomous trucking firm known as MoonX.AI. MoonX already had a relationship with ZTO Specific earlier than the acquisition.

Han mentioned WeRide had been working with JMC on a analysis venture since 2019 on logistics. When MoonX was acquired, WeRide managed to convey ZTO Specific on as a accomplice.

WeRide’s enterprise mannequin will revolve round it being concerned within the eventual operation of ZTO’s logistics community utilizing Robovans, reasonably than solely licensing out its expertise.

“By doing this we will have recurring income and similar time get suggestions to enhance the product,” Han mentioned.

The worldwide semiconductor scarcity is affecting industries throughout the board together with automakers.

WeRide’s autonomous driving techniques depend on numerous chips given the quantity of sensors concerned. Han mentioned it could have an effect on the corporate when it begins to supply automobiles on a bigger scale.

“As a result of we’re utilizing sensor towers, all these sensors and computational items, I believe the scarcity of those form of chips could have an effect on our supply and … our rollout plan,” Han mentioned.

He mentioned, that the chip scarcity won’t have an effect on the present venture with JMC and ZTO. However he mentioned that if the businesses have to make 10,000 to 50,000 Robovans then the corporate may see an impact.

“We now have to work upfront about our provide chain and easy methods to shield our provide chain,” Han mentioned.