Alibaba to Develop Self-driving Trucks With Logistics Unit Cainiao

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Updated: Jun 10, 2021, 06:18 UTC

HANGZHOU, China/BEIJING (Reuters) - Chinese e-commerce leader Alibaba Group Holding Ltd plans to develop self-driving trucks with logistics subsidiary Cainiao, Chief Technology Officer Cheng Li said on Thursday.

Alibaba Group CTO Cheng Li attends the Global Smart Logistics

Cheng also said Cainiao aims to introduce 1,000 autonomous delivery robots in China over the next year.

The announcement comes as dozens of startups, automakers and large technology firms, such as internet search leader Baidu Inc, accelerate work on self-driving vehicle systems, which are widely expected to bring a sea change to the transportation industry.

Other self-driving truck makers include U.S. firm TuSimple Holdings Inc, which listed shares in April.

(Reporting by Yilei Sun and Tony Munroe; Editing by Christopher Cushing)

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