Former DJI self-driving unit seeks an edge in adapting drone tech to lorries, logistics
The latest moves mean ZYT is opening up new battlefronts in China’s fiercely contested autonomous driving landscape
The former autonomous driving unit at DJI, the world’s largest drone maker, is gearing up to serve the heavy vehicle industry in 2026, in the latest example of Chinese innovation spilling over from Big Tech firms to start-ups.
Chinese self-driving tech firm ZYT plans to move into heavy-duty lorries and unmanned logistics vehicles, expanding its footprint from city streets to highways, as the race for commercialisation intensifies in the sector.
The Shenzhen-based company, known as Zhuoyu, will introduce its navigate-on-autopilot feature to lorries on highways. Mass production is slated for the first half of 2026, CEO Shen Shaojie said on Tuesday.
The company has secured Xuzhou Construction Machinery Group, Shaanxi Automobile Group and China National Heavy Duty Truck Group as its first batch of trucking partners.
As a manufacturer of both intelligent driving systems and components, ZYT had “an inherent advantage in transferring the technology from passenger cars, which have massive scale and high quality standards, to other sectors”, Shen said at an event to celebrate the company’s 10th anniversary.
He added that ZYT would launch in January a partnership with a top Chinese commercial vehicle maker to design unmanned logistics vehicles using the company’s autonomous driving tech.