- Zeron today announced that it has completed a Series A financing round worth RMB 500 million ($70 million), with Momenta as one of the three lead investors.
- Zeron’s two electric heavy-duty trucks have cumulatively delivered nearly 700 units.
Chinese smart driving startup Momenta has invested in domestic electric heavy-duty truck startup Zeron Truck, increasing its bet on the smart driving industry chain.
Zeron today announced that it has completed a Series A financing round worth RMB 500 million ($70 million), with Momenta as one of the three lead investors.
This is Momenta’s first move in the truck sector. The company has already secured orders from multiple car manufacturers in the passenger car sector and is a leading supplier of assisted driving solutions in China.
Zeron was founded in April 2022 by Huang Zhehua, former co-founder of autonomous truck company TuSimple, and Zhang Hongsong, former general manager of Sany Truck.
Momenta CEO Cao Xudong said that he has known Huang for many years and that Huang’s keen foresight into advanced technologies and deep respect for science and technology are important factors in his confidence in Zeron.
The smart driving solution developed by BMW and Momenta will be used in multiple BMW models, including domestically produced next-generation cars.
Zeron has assembled a team of more than 200 people focused on intelligent electric heavy-duty truck technologies, including powertrain R&D, thermal management, electronic and electrical architecture, connectivity, and intelligence.
Based on its in-house developed technologies, Zeron’s vehicles have a power output of up to 860 horsepower, exceeding the 600 horsepower of most traditional fuel-powered heavy-duty trucks.
Zeron launched its first generation of intelligent heavy-duty trucks, Jingzhe and Xiaoman, in 2024. To date, these two models have completed nearly 700 deliveries and exceeded 25 million kilometers of total operating mileage, according to a statement released today.
The company is advancing the development of end-to-end and multi-modal large model autonomous driving technology, following the announcement of its end-to-end autonomous driving technology ZSD last year, it said.
Zeron’s target for this year is to deliver 1,500 heavy-duty trucks, according to a report by local media outlet 36kr earlier today.
With the rapid electrification of China’s automotive industry, heavy-duty trucks have become a new focus.
Chinese battery giant CATL (SHE: 300750) launched its standardized battery swap battery pack for heavy-duty trucks, dubbed “75#,” on May 18, seeking to capitalize on the rapid development of the sector.
The heavy-duty truck industry will see explosive growth over the next three years, with electrification rates potentially reaching 50 percent, CATL chairman and CEO Robin Zeng said at the launch event on May 18.
($1 = RMB 7.175)
At present, 89 percent of the new energy heavy trucks are pure electric models, and half of them support battery swap.
