Autonomous Delivery Startup Neolix Sees Surge in Demand

Beijing-based Neolix, a startup focusing on developing autonomous delivery vehicles, has seen their order volume rise given the huge surge in demand for this technology. The company has sold 200 delivery vehicles in the past two months, compared to 125 units in total since May of 2019.

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Neolix’s customers include staples of the delivery sector in China, such as Alibaba, Meituan Dianping and JD.com. The company recently completed its A round of financing to the tune of around 200 million yuan. Aiming to sell 1,000 delivery vehicles this year, Neolix has ramped up production following the recent capital injection.

Neolix’s unmanned delivery vehicles were on full display, as 18 vehicles were dispatched to the Wuhan area to assist the emergency medical response to the COVID-19 outbreak. The firm began with an interest in autonomous cars, but later pivoted to courier vehicles.

In an interview with Tencent News, Neolix’s CEO Yu Enyuan expressed his strategic vision for the company’s delivery strategy, citing the increased flexibility due to the reduced size of the vehicle and no need to abide by traffic restrictions. He also explained the efficiency gains by employing a Neolix unmanned courier especially in terms of load capacity per trip. Yu also said the company is currently boasting an R&D budget of 300 million yuan.