As the wave of ‘smart technology’ sweeps across the automotive industry, intelligent driving solutions for passenger cars have long since shed their aura of mystery, with features such as urban navigation and valet parking rapidly becoming part of people’s daily commutes. However, for commercial vehicles—which share the road with passenger cars—the question of what form this smart technology should take and what practical value it can deliver to users remains a vague and unresolved industry challenge.
Recently, Foton Motor officially launched its All-Domain Intelligence brand. With the unveiling of two intelligent products under its Auman heavy-duty truck range, the company has provided a clear and confident answer to this ambiguous area that concerns the future direction of the industry. The Auman Galaxy 9 HWP Highway Pilot Heavy-Duty Truck and the Auman Galaxy 5 HWA Highway Assistant Heavy-Duty Truck are equipped with the industry’s first single-stage, end-to-end intelligent driving large model. This truly ushers in a new era of profound transformation centred on ‘people’ and ‘business’, establishing a new benchmark for commercial vehicle intelligence that is referenceable, implementable and sustainable.
Not a Simple Replication: Commercial Vehicle Intelligence Must Be Tailor-Made
It has long been a consensus across the industry that the mature experience gained from passenger cars cannot be simply transposed onto heavy-duty trucks, which operate under highly complex working conditions. However, whilst this is widely acknowledged, the difficulty of truly breaking down this barrier at the level of underlying technical architecture far exceeds external expectations. The core breakthrough delivered by Foton Auman lies in being the first to translate the ‘full-link end-to-end’ concept from a technical vision into mass production, enabling perception, decision-making and execution to form a complete closed-loop within a single large model, thereby fundamentally rewriting the underlying logic of commercial vehicle intelligent driving.
Compared to passenger cars, heavy-duty trucks—as essential means of production—exhibit highly non-linear operating characteristics: longer bodies, heavier loads, a constantly shifting centre of gravity, and braking distances far exceeding those of standard passenger vehicles. Vehicles face not only standardised motorways but also non-standard national highways, continuous complex gradients, extreme weather conditions such as rain, snow and fog, and narrow tunnel roads—a multitude of demanding scenarios. The core value of the end-to-end intelligent driving architecture lies precisely here. The AI large model must be equally proficient in both decision-making and precise execution, capable of accurately predicting powertrain response when climbing hills under full load, whilst also mastering millisecond-level fine control during braking on wet or snowy surfaces. This achieves a true integration of ‘thinking’ and ‘action’, fundamentally addressing the complex operational demands of heavy-duty trucks across all scenarios.
What the industry finds even more difficult to match is the data foundation that underpins the continuous evolution of this end-to-end large model. To date, market deliveries of the Auman Intelligent Heavy-Duty Truck have exceeded 3,000 units, with a cumulative safe driving mileage of over 300 million kilometres, achieving the industry miracle of zero major safety incidents. These intelligent heavy-duty trucks, traversing China’s vast landscape, have, through their telematics systems, formed a real-world commercial vehicle driving database that is unique in the world. Every day, vast amounts of real-world driving data – covering hill starts, cornering manoeuvres and responses to unexpected road conditions – are continuously fed into the cloud, serving as the core nourishment for training the AI autonomous driving large model.
This means that, from the very outset, the Auman Galaxy Intelligent Driving heavy-duty truck has not been learning from idealised models in a laboratory, but rather from the practical wisdom of hundreds of millions of Chinese lorry drivers who have traversed mountains and rivers. Supported by this vast and authentic data foundation, the Intelligent Driving High-Performance Version (HWP)’s capabilities—such as automatic overtaking and precise evasive manoeuvres—are not merely ‘textbook’ or rigidly executed, but rather closely resemble the driving style of an experienced, seasoned driver. Building on this, the system utilises multi-sensor precision perception to achieve active safety capabilities that surpass human driving. It is precisely through this long-term accumulation and meticulous refinement of data and technological advantages that Foton has built a core competitive barrier that is difficult for the industry to replicate or surpass, laying the most solid foundation for leading the intelligent heavy-duty truck sector.
Hardcore Technology Empowers All-Scenario Intelligent Driving to Solve the Logistics Industry’s Pain Points
The traditional logistics and transport industry faces three long-standing, intractable challenges: high risks associated with fatigue driving on long-haul routes, difficulties in navigating complex road conditions, and rising labour and operational costs year on year. These chronic industry issues cannot be fundamentally resolved through traditional vehicle upgrades or management models; only the deep integration of intelligent technologies can systematically address these developmental challenges.
Based on Foton Motor’s advanced driver assistance technology platform, the Auman heavy-duty truck has established a six-in-one intelligent architecture comprising worry-free intelligent driving, an intelligent by-wire chassis, a super powertrain, an intelligent cockpit and a cloud platform, offering the distinct advantages of high scalability and rapid iteration. An AI large model coordinates every system in the vehicle, achieving comprehensive integration and efficient collaboration. The vehicle can anticipate situations and respond calmly in any complex scenario, whilst also evolving through continuous data training, becoming smarter the more it is used and safer the more it is driven.
In terms of perception, the HWP Advanced Edition intelligent heavy-duty truck is equipped with seven high-definition cameras, five millimetre-wave radars and one 250-metre ultra-long-range lidar, striking a balance between performance and cost. The lidar is positioned at the maximum height on the roof, offering a wider field of view and longer detection range; it can clearly identify small targets measuring 30×30 centimetres at a distance of 250 metres, achieving a leading standard in the heavy-duty truck industry. The high-precision 3D perception of the LiDAR, the all-weather penetration capability of the millimetre-wave radar, and the detailed capture of the high-definition cameras complement each other perfectly. Together, they construct a comprehensive, 360-degree, three-dimensional, ultra-clear environmental model with no blind spots, enabling precise distance and speed measurement of surrounding vehicles and obstacles. This ensures that the vehicle can ‘see accurately, react quickly and control steadily’ under any operating conditions.
The new-generation intelligent by-wire chassis is deeply integrated with the autonomous driving system. Featuring a highly integrated design with safety redundancy, it enables fully intelligent control of braking and steering, significantly improving response times and reducing braking distances, thereby providing reliable execution support for advanced autonomous driving. Bolstered by this technical architecture, the Auman Intelligent Heavy-Duty Truck demonstrates four core advantages: ultimate safety, exceptional fuel efficiency, a comfortable ride, and highly efficient operations.
Full-scenario functions—including on- and off-ramp merging, four-way intelligent micro-evasion, rapid lane changes and overtaking, and intelligent speed control on wide bends—make driving in complex road conditions effortless and safe. The system can pre-emptively identify road conditions, automatically plan trajectories and ensure smooth manoeuvring, with individual lane changes completed in under 10 seconds for precision and efficiency; micro-evasion distances are precisely controllable for different vehicle models, ensuring stable execution even on narrow tunnel roads. The Intelligent Cruise Control System can pre-plan the most economical route, match the optimal speed, and accurately detect gradient conditions to achieve fuel-efficient driving. Compared to manual driving, it delivers fuel savings of 3%–5%, tangibly reducing operating costs and generating higher returns for logistics companies and individual drivers.
Paying Tribute to Truck Drivers with Care; Returning to Human-Centric Values Through Intelligence
By returning to the original intent behind this product launch, we may better understand why Foton Auman has persisted in tackling the ‘tough nut’ of developing the entire supply chain in-house. Data reveals a clear trend of an ageing truck driver population in China, with nearly 40% of drivers spending over 3,600 hours annually in their cabs, and more than 70% suffering from occupational ailments such as cervical and lumbar spine disorders. For those who spend their lives on the road, intelligent technology is never merely a marketing gimmick, but a source of hope for improving their working conditions and enhancing their quality of life.
Foton Auman’s answer is “warmth” – making technology less cold and truly serving every truck driver. Its intelligent driving system not only reduces the accident rate on motorways by 70–80%, acting as a “guardian of safety” on the road, but also, through its Smart Cabin AI model, provides in-depth coverage of drivers’ physiological health monitoring and emotional interaction. From grip force detection and fatigue monitoring on the steering wheel, to voice reassurance during moments of anxiety and scientific fuel-saving advice, right through to price comparisons for freight sources and recommendations for the optimal route, this system acts as an all-weather “intelligent management partner”. It understands the road and the vehicle, and can even read the mind of every truck driver sitting behind the wheel, working tirelessly all year round.
Addressing the most critical risk of long-distance driving—fatigue—the Auman Smart Heavy-Duty Truck has developed a three-tier fatigue protection strategy: audible and visual alerts, seat vibrations, and the system’s active takeover to slow down and avoid hazards, providing progressive layers of protection for driving safety. From passive safety protection to active risk warnings, and from physical health monitoring to emotional support and companionship, Auman has woven respect and care for truck drivers into every technical detail.
Foton Auman has always been acutely aware that the ultimate goal of intelligent heavy-duty trucks is never merely a display of technological prowess, but rather ensuring that technology genuinely serves the safety, health and profitability of users. This is the founding principle that commercial vehicle intelligence must uphold, and it is the guiding principle that Auman Heavy-Duty Trucks has consistently adhered to.
The curtain has risen on the era of intelligent vehicles, and the commercial vehicle industry stands at a critical juncture in its transition from traditional transport to smart transport. The grand debut of Foton Auman Galaxy Intelligent’s ‘Twin Stars’ is not merely the launch of two new models, but a powerful statement on the future direction of commercial vehicle intelligence.
Rather than simply replicating passenger car solutions, we remain committed to bespoke designs for commercial vehicles; rather than relying on virtual data, we have honed an AI that truly understands heavy-duty trucks through 300 million kilometres of real-world operational scenarios; rather than pursuing cold, impersonal technology, we safeguard millions of truck drivers with a human touch. Through concrete actions, Foton Auman heavy-duty trucks demonstrate that true commercial vehicle intelligence must be grounded in the nature of production resources, address industry pain points head-on, be people-centred, and create genuine value.
In the future, as intelligent technology continues to evolve, Foton Motor will continue to use technological innovation as its driving force and user needs as its guide. We will constantly expand the boundaries of intelligent heavy-duty truck applications, reduce costs and improve efficiency for the logistics industry, and safeguard truck drivers. We will lead the intelligent transformation of China’s commercial vehicles towards a new future that is safer, more efficient and more human-centred, helping China’s logistics sector move towards a new era of intelligence.
