Chinese electric truck startup Zeron has secured more than 1.2 billion yuan ($about €151 million) in fresh funding from investors including Nio, CATL, and Momenta, as the company seeks to accelerate development of battery-electric and autonomous heavy-duty trucks.
The latest investment round, led by CATL’s Puquan Capital alongside Momenta and Nio Capital, more than doubles the 500 million yuan (around €63 million) financing Zeron secured in July 2025. The participation of major players in batteries, autonomous driving and electric vehicles highlights growing industry interest in electrified freight transport.
Founded in April 2022, Zeron was established by former executives from autonomous trucking firm TuSimple and heavy truck manufacturer Sany Truck. The startup focuses on developing battery-electric heavy trucks designed for logistics operations.
By the end of 2025, the company had delivered more than 1,600 units of its two models, the Jingzhe and Xiaoman electric trucks, according to company data.
Autonomous driving technology is expected to play a key role in Zeron’s development strategy. Momenta’s investment marks the fourth time the autonomous driving specialist has backed the startup.
“We have witnessed the team’s steady progress over the past few years. The potential for autonomous heavy trucks is enormous, and that strengthens our confidence in Zeron’s future,” said Cao Xudong, chief executive of Momenta.
Zeron founder and chief executive Huang Zehua said the company prioritised developing its own vehicle platform rather than focusing only on software solutions for autonomous driving.
“Many startups prefer to begin with something easier, but we decided from the beginning to tackle the hardest part — the vehicle itself,” Huang said.
According to a report by China Daily, Zeron has already deployed an end-to-end autonomous driving system based on multimodal large models and is testing the technology in real-world logistics operations.
The company plans to begin regular driverless truck operations in the second quarter of 2026. Zeron is also targeting deliveries of 5,000 heavy-duty trucks this year as it expands production capacity.
Huang said the startup could reach its break-even point as early as 2026 if the growth targets are achieved.
