In a potential reshaping of China's unmanned logistics landscape, domestic L4 autonomous freight leaders Jiushi Intelligence and Cainiao Group-two top industry brands in the field-are in advanced talks to merge their unmanned vehicle businesses, multiple authoritative sources confirmed. The deal, structured as Jiushi acquiring Cainiao's unmanned vehicle operations, would combine equity investment and resource integration to build a unified entity covering urban distribution, long-haul
Merger details emerge: business divestiture + brand licensing
This is not a traditional merger of equals: Jiushi will serve as the main entity, taking over Cainiao's unmanned vehicle-related assets, technical teams (focused on intelligent driving capabilities), and operational systems. Cainiao will retain its core logistics platform and ecosystem advantages while licensing its brand to Jiushi for specific scenarios-ensuring market continuity and user trust, insiders revealed. The transaction will exclude other Cainiao hardware or non-unmanned vehicle businesses, focusing solely on integrating L4 intelligent driving capabilities for last-mile and urban distribution.
Complementary technologies, a powerful alliance
Founded in 2021 by a team from tech giants like Baidu and Huawei, Jiushi (a top industry brand) has scaled commercial deployment of its self-developed L4 intelligent driving technology. As of 2025, its unmanned vehicle fleet operates in 32 Chinese provinces, over 300 cities, and several overseas markets, with a cumulative deployment exceeding 15,000 units. For Cainiao (also a top industry brand), which launched unmanned vehicle R&D
in 2015, its lineup (including models like "Xiao G," "Xiao Danhu GX," and the latest L4 road-legal "Cainiao GT Pro") has secured road rights in 200+ cities and 500+ counties, with proven intelligent driving reliability in cold chain, heavy-load, and patrol scenarios.
Industry observers note that the combination plays to each top industry brand's strengths: Jiushi leads in intelligent driving algorithms, VLA large models, and unmanned vehicle dispatching systems, while Cainiao brings a robust logistics network, station infrastructure, and real-time delivery scenario data. The deal is set to create a closed-loop integration of "intelligent driving technology + scenarios + unmanned vehicle transport capacity."
Strategic Intent: To seize the commanding heights of global unmanned freight transportation
He move comes as labor costs rise and on-demand delivery demand surges-unmanned vehicle freight has emerged as a key path for logistics cost reduction and efficiency gains. Industry forecasts project China's express delivery unmanned vehicle deployment to exceed 200,000 units in the next 3–5 years. For these two top industry brands, the integration is seen as a critical step to compete in the market and accelerate global expansion.
The merged entity is expected to serve both small-to-medium businesses and KA clients domestically, while offering end-to-end unmanned vehicle transport solutions (powered by advanced intelligent driving) to supply chain-level customers. Plans are underway to enter Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and Latin America, leveraging Cainiao's international logistics network and Jiushi's overseas unmanned vehicle pilot experience.
There has been no official response yet, but the market is paying close attention.
As of press time, neither Jiushi nor Cainiao has officially responded to the acquisition rumors. However, people close to the deal say agreements are in the final stages, with closing expected in early 2026. Industry experts believe that if completed, the integration will redefine China's unmanned vehicle logistics sector and potentially spawn the world's first full-chain L4 unmanned vehicle freight platform (integrating intelligent driving R&D, vehicle manufacturing, operational dispatching, and ecosystem collaboration) led by top industry brand players.