The Zhitong Finance App learned that it is compact, lightweight, and has a soft appearance. At 4 p.m. on September 2, a Zhongtong unmanned express delivery vehicle drove into the Yanqiao district of Wuxi City, Jiangsu Province. The short 4-kilometer delivery distance achieved an industry breakthrough — according to the Zhongtong Smart Driving driverless vehicle operation and management platform, the actual operating mileage of the entire network of unmanned vehicles supervised by the platform officially exceeded one million kilometers.

The Zhongtong Smart Driving unmanned vehicle operation and management platform was launched in April 2024. It became the first digital management platform for unmanned vehicles in the express delivery industry. Relying on the network advantages and scale advantages of Zhongtong Express, the smart driving platform is now directly linked to more than 100 outlets in 40 cities across the country, totaling more than 200 unmanned vehicles, so that unmanned vehicles operated all over the country can achieve real-time digital monitoring and management, and improve the convenience and safety of unmanned vehicle transportation on different road sections.

“The Zhongtong Smart Driving Unmanned Vehicle Operation and Management Platform is a platform-based product connecting express logistics companies and unmanned vehicle R&D companies. It aims to provide comprehensive unmanned vehicle operation solutions. The platform can promote the interface between industry and government platforms, establish a standard system, promote the improvement of regulations, expand industry rights, and at the same time actively promote industry applications and jointly build an industry ecosystem.” Jin Renqun, vice president of Zhongtong Express Group, said that the main application scenario for unmanned express delivery vehicles is short-distance transportation from outlets to end stores in the community, which can effectively enable outlets to reduce costs and increase efficiency.

Behind the launch of the Zhongtong Smart Driving driverless vehicle operation and management platform is Zhongtong's continuous exploration of the practical application of digital intelligence over the years:

On October 25, 2019, Zhongtong Express - W (02057) obtained the “Intelligent Connected Vehicle Open Road Transport Operation License” and became one of the first express delivery companies to obtain commercial licenses for unmanned logistics vehicles; in 2021, Zhongtong launched an unmanned community project with an autonomous vehicle; in 2023, Zhongtong and Neolithic unmanned vehicles jointly promoted the large-scale application of autonomous driving technology in the distribution field; at the same time, Zhongtong Express's map company Zhongtong Sky Technology passed the assessment and approval of the competent authorities and became a Class A surveying and mapping qualification unit to obtain Internet map services Class A surveying and mapping qualification certificate.

At present, Zhongtong unmanned vehicles have been initially used on a large scale in many parts of the country. They can serve communities within 15 km of the network, provide services such as express shuttle transfers, etc., and deliver 500-800 orders per day.

At the Zhongtongyanqiao network in Wuxi, the network has introduced 3 unmanned vehicles. Every day, they shuttle between 15 different post stations. Each unmanned vehicle can carry about 700 express tickets, the maximum speed can reach 40 kilometers per hour, and the battery life is about 140 kilometers at full load, which can fully meet the needs of daily express delivery.

The unmanned vehicle is equipped with an AEB (automatic emergency braking system) and a BEV visual obstacle detection and avoidance system, which can autonomously turn, avoid obstacles efficiently, wait accurately for traffic lights, be polite to pedestrians at zebra crossings, and wait patiently to lift bars when entering and leaving the community. “Now our unmanned vehicle is a veteran driver. If you see an obstacle from afar, you slow down early to avoid it. The whole process was very smooth.” Zhang Shihe, guide of the Wuxi Neolithic unmanned vehicle, said.

Chen Fei, head of the Yanqiao branch, also said, “We plan to introduce more unmanned express delivery vehicles to cover all express delivery stations in Wuxi as soon as possible, so that citizens can experience more convenient and smarter logistics services.”

Currently, the Zhongtong Smart Driving unmanned vehicle operation and management platform is based on a geographic information data center as the core foundation, supported by a right-of-way distribution platform, an operation supervision platform, and a business control platform. It has been built and promoted to Zhongtong's outlets across the country.

“As a typical new type of productivity of the Zhongtong Express distribution network, unmanned vehicles extend the digital and intelligent reach more fully to all aspects of delivery, break through the 'last mile' express delivery pain points, and provide customers with a fast, accurate, and safe logistics service experience.” Kim In-qun said.

Furthermore, in the field of drones, the three Tonglu routes in Zhejiang have entered the substantial operation stage, with a cumulative operating mileage of over 0.048 million kilometers, and the actual delivery of more than 0.01 million packages; in Nanjing, Jiangsu, Zhongtong terminal drones carry out takeout delivery on Jiangxinzhou Island and are moving towards commercialization, with a cumulative operating mileage of more than 9,000 kilometers and actual delivery of more than 2,000 packages; in Xinjiang, two normalized drone logistics operation routes have now been opened to complete cargo flights. In addition, the Zhongtong Nanjing Drone Base is a training base for targeted talents of Zhongtong Express. It closely follows the employment needs of drone projects and uses “simulation+practice” directly linked industries, enterprises and jobs.