by Shen Xiaoge

Chinese autonomous delivery vehicle maker Neolix has secured 1 billion yuan (US$140 million) in its latest C+ funding round, backed by major logistics firms and financial investors including CICC Capital. The new funding follows a 600 million yuan Series C round last year, which brought in key investors and nearly 10,000 vehicle orders.

Founded in 2018, Neolix has expanded its L4 autonomous fleet. By late 2024, its self-driving vehicles had road operation permits in nearly 70 Chinese cities and are rolling out to 13 international markets, including Germany and Singapore. The company has secured over 20,000 orders and aims to manage a fleet of 10,000 L4 autonomous vehicles by 2025.

Tapping into booming logistics demand

China’s delivery sector handled 193.7 billion parcels in 2024, up 19.2% year-on-year, according to the State Post Bureau, with daily package volumes reaching 400 million. The costly "last five kilometers" of delivery accounts for 50-60% of logistics expenses, an area where autonomous vehicles are being explored as a potential solution.

Neolix built the world’s first L4 autonomous vehicle factory in 2019 and has iterated its product five times. Its latest X3 model operates at 40km/h on urban roads, using advanced BEV 4D perception and dual LiDAR sensors for 360-degree obstacle detection.

Adoption by logistics firms

Neolix has established partnerships with logistics firms including China Post, SF Express, and ZTO. The company claims its X6 model can deliver 2,000 parcels daily and reduce per-package delivery costs by 50%. However, the scalability and efficiency of autonomous delivery remain subject to regulatory developments and operational challenges.

Neolix plans to increase production capacity, with a target of manufacturing 30,000 autonomous vehicles annually by 2025. The company continues to expand its presence in China's logistics sector, though competition and infrastructure constraints may influence future growth