Zelos advances smart logistics through L4 autonomous driving innovation

Innovative Breakthrough: Zelos

Founded in 2021, Zelos is a leading global autonomous driving technology company. Guided by its mission to "make logistics simpler" and its vision to "become a global leader in intelligent transportation", it provides innovative solutions for China's trillion-yuan urban delivery market through its mature, self-developed L4 autonomous driving technology.

As the pioneer of the global RoboVan (autonomous delivery van) category, Zelos places innovation at the heart of its strategy. In 2023, it launched the Z5 series, the world's first mass-produced L4 autonomous urban delivery vehicles, and introduced the first driverless van to operate on public roads in a city, establishing the RoboVan category.

Zelos has also pioneered map-free autonomous driving. In 2025, it introduced its Light Map 1.0 solution. By 2026, it had achieved mass production of map-free L4 autonomous driving solutions, eliminating reliance on high-definition maps. This reduced deployment time in new cities from months to hours, removing a major cost constraint on scaling operations.

Under its strategy of "city-scale physical AI", Zelos has developed an intelligent technology system centered on the Zelos Brain, extending L4 autonomous driving from urban logistics to other urban services and industrial applications.

At its core is APEX, a proprietary foundation world model. Supported by computing infrastructure with capacity for tens of thousands of AI accelerators and an efficient data feedback loop, APEX continuously improves its understanding of the physical world and its ability to make decisions and act. Through model distillation, APEX transfers advanced perception and reasoning capabilities to vehicles and the cloud, forming a safety-focused autonomous driving architecture powered by coordinated AI agents.

Zelos has translated its innovations into large-scale commercial operations. Its fleet exceeds 30,000 vehicles, with operations spanning more than 20 countries and regions and over 360 cities. It has accumulated 290 million kilometers in real-world L4 operations, ranking first in the industry.

In October 2025, Zelos won China Post's centralized procurement project for the lease of 7,000 autonomous vehicles — the largest procurement order for autonomous freight vehicles worldwide to date. The deal made Zelos a key partner in China Post's autonomous delivery network.

Zelos has also pioneered a hybrid business model combining hardware sales with software subscriptions, shifting autonomous delivery from selling vehicles to providing transportation capacity. It is expanding its transportation-as-a-service model through partnerships with platforms such as Didi Freight and Huolala. Its business model combines vehicle sales, vehicle leasing and transportation services, serving customers ranging from major express delivery companies to small and medium-sized merchants.

Zelos links its global expansion with international standards development. As a member of a Singapore Standards Council working group, it has participated in revisions to Technical Reference 68 (TR 68), Singapore's autonomous vehicle standard, helping bring Chinese technological experience into international industry standards. It has also led the development of standards at five levels: international, national, industry, local and group standards.

Zelos has secured Singapore's first license for autonomous logistics vehicles, an operating license for medium- and large-sized autonomous trucks in the United Arab Emirates, and autonomous vehicle licenses in Belgium and Malaysia. Its operations span 20 countries and regions, with a global strategy focused on early expansion in Singapore and the Middle East, deeper operations in Southeast Asia and validation against stringent standards in Europe.

Zelos supports China Post's nationwide deployment of autonomous vehicles, building a three-tier logistics network connecting cities, towns and villages. In the mountainous areas of Yongjia county, Zhejiang province, the network enables same-day delivery from county centers to villages. Pilot programs in remote areas such as Hulunbuir in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region and Garze Tibetan autonomous prefecture in Sichuan province have cut delivery costs per item by more than 50 percent.

Zelos has also partnered with the Changzhou Research Institute of China Coal Technology and Engineering Group to launch the world's first L4 autonomous vehicle for underground mining, extending autonomous driving technology to operations 400 meters underground. In collaboration with Beijing Enterprises Holdings' Beikong Beidou, it has developed an autonomous gas inspection system, applying autonomous driving technology to urban public safety.

Autonomous vehicles are helping bridge the digital divide between urban and rural areas and support rural revitalization.

The World Internet Conference (WIC) established the WIC Distinguished Contribution Award in 2024 to recognize individuals and enterprises that have made outstanding contributions to the global internet-related fields. As of now, 12 leading figures and 26 renowned enterprises from around the world have been honored with the award.

The enterprise awards cover three categories: Social Contribution, Innovative Breakthrough and Growth Potential. Recipients span internet platforms, mobile communications, AI, chip design, energy and power, and cybersecurity. The awards recognize the diversity of the internet ecosystem and encourage more enterprises to advance the industry and explore the digital future.