Hanover IAA: SuperPanther Unveils Heavy-Duty Truck Embodied Intelligence Strategy, Deepens Cooperation with DHL Group

Hanover, Germany, September 14, 2026 -- During IAA Transportation 2026, SuperPanther unveiled its embodied intelligence strategy for heavy-duty commercial transport and the Truck Brain technology roadmap, and announced its European business, future electrification technologies, and the latest cooperation progress with DHL Group.

SuperPanther's European mass-production model eTopas 600 has completed initial customer deliveries, is conducting daily operations in customer business scenarios in Germany, the Netherlands, Austria, Switzerland, Poland, and the Czech Republic, and continues to make deliveries. Leveraging localized production in Austria with Steyr Automotive, SuperPanther has become the first Chinese truck manufacturer to achieve localized production of NEW ENERGY heavy-duty trucks in Europe and enter multi-country customer operations.

From driving automation to transport task intelligence.

End-to-end autonomous driving systems convert perception results into immediate actions such as steering, braking, and lane changes. SuperPanther's Truck Brain adds task-level reasoning under uncertainty on this basis: it uses a world model to understand anomalies, predict environmental changes, and provide goals and strategies to the real-time driving system, helping the system evaluate different options in long-tail scenarios. Vehicle dynamics control remains the responsibility of the real-time driving system, and high-level decisions must be validated by a coordination and safety layer before execution.

Considering that commercial vehicles cannot rely on continuous cloud connectivity, SuperPanther plans to deploy Truck Brain's core capabilities on the vehicle side. The first engineering goal is an optimized and compressed 7-billion-parameter specialized model, adapted to a next-generation in-vehicle computing platform with approximately 1,000 TOPS of computing power. Parameter scale is not the sole determinant of capability; model performance also depends on vehicle knowledge, operational data, and real-world transport experience.

SuperPanther plans a three-phase roadmap: enhance L2+ driver assistance with an on-vehicle AI agent; advance Truck Brain-enhanced L4 within defined operating conditions and operational design domains; and over the long term extend intelligence capabilities from vehicle driving to energy, routes, and logistics processes, gradually forming a full-task freight robot. SuperPanther plans to first launch L2+ highway pilot intelligent driver assistance capabilities in 2027, including active lane changes, in-lane collision avoidance, and ramp navigation. These functions are subject to technical validation, vehicle type certification, and local regulations.

Partnering with DHL again to explore truck embodied intelligence in real-world scenarios.

At SuperPanther's press conference during this year's IAA Transportation 2026, SuperPanther and DHL Group signed a memorandum of understanding; the two sides will jointly explore potential areas of cooperation related to truck autonomous driving and embodied intelligence. The two sides stated that they will study how to combine real logistics workflows, demand testing, and operational data to evaluate intelligent and automated battery-electric trucks in scenarios close to actual operations, and to provide a basis for future technology development needs.

Dr. Antje Huber, Head of Strategy, Marketing and Office at DHL Freight, said: "In the future, autonomous driving is expected to enable safer, more efficient, and more sustainable operations in road freight. DHL Freight has previously tested autonomous vehicles in controlled environments for its own site logistics operations. However, the regulatory framework required to deploy related technologies on public roads in Germany still needs further clarification. The first SuperPanther truck to achieve mass production in Europe has already entered DHL Freight operations. Through this memorandum of understanding, we will further expand our cooperation with SuperPanther in autonomous driving-related fields, jointly exploring the opportunities this technology can bring to the future of road freight."

Currently, the two sides are holding detailed discussions on specific projects, implementation locations, vehicles, and timelines. Liu Chao, Founder and CEO of SuperPanther, said: "Achieving truck autonomous driving capability is the first step; true task intelligence must learn from real transport operations. We will work with DHL to jointly explore the application scenarios and development requirements needed for Truck Brain as a core technology for fully autonomous trucks and intelligent transport tasks, and assess the quantifiable value it can create."

European local production and multi-country daily operations.

The eTopas 600 has obtained EU whole-vehicle type approval and is produced in Austria in cooperation with Steyr Automotive. The vehicle is equipped with a 621 kWh battery and has a maximum range of approximately 560 km; under representative operating conditions, energy consumption is approximately 0.94 kWh/km. The vehicle supports dual-gun CCS charging, with a combined charging power of up to approximately 660 kW under suitable conditions, and is architecturally prepared for future megawatt-level charging systems. Actual performance depends on vehicle configuration, payload, route, and operating conditions.

As daily operations and subsequent deliveries advance in multiple countries including Germany, the Netherlands, Austria, Switzerland, Poland, and the Czech Republic, SuperPanther is expanding its European service, diagnostics, spare parts, and software support network with Alltrucks and other partners. The company plans to deliver approximately 100 trucks by the end of 2026 and cumulatively deliver 1,000 trucks to European customers by the end of 2027.

"The eTopas 600 proves that SuperPanther's technology system can move from engineering concept to European mass production and real customer operations." Dr. Michael Ruf, President of SuperPanther Europe, said, "For transport operators, the key is not how many technologies a heavy-duty truck uses, but whether the entire system can deliver usable range, higher energy efficiency and charging efficiency, as well as reliable operational performance and sustainable business returns."

Core technologies for next-generation products.

SuperPanther also showcased its next-generation EverDrive electric drive axle and high-voltage domain controller for future product cycles. The EverDrive electric drive axle has continuous torque of 43,000 Nm and continuous power of 500 kW, integrating an intelligent four-speed reducer, active lubrication, and full-coverage oil cooling; compared with the previous generation, it is 130 kg lighter and 15% smaller in volume.

The new-generation high-voltage domain controller integrates power electronics, energy distribution, and control functions; the system is more than 50 kg lighter and takes up about one-third less space. Both technologies are planned to be introduced into next-generation products.

SuperPanther's unique native architecture for developing embodied intelligence.

SuperPanther summarizes its technology roadmap with Born Electric, Born Intelligent, and Born Global: from the very beginning of product definition, it systematically integrates electric energy architecture, software, data, and intelligence capabilities, and combines technology development with German engineering experience, European local manufacturing, and service systems.

This unique native architecture enables SuperPanther to collaboratively develop the truck's "body" and "brain" at the whole-vehicle level: on the one hand, through electric drive, high-voltage systems, energy management, x-by-wire chassis, and vehicle control, it establishes a perceptible and executable physical foundation for embodied intelligence; on the other hand, through Truck Brain, the real-time driving system, and the coordination and safety layer, it translates vehicle knowledge, environmental understanding, and transport task reasoning into safe, verifiable vehicle actions.

At present, based on the localized production, continuous deliveries, and multi-country daily operations of the eTopas 600 in Europe, SuperPanther is accumulating real vehicle data, logistics scenarios, and transport experience, and feeding them back into product and intelligent system development. This capability, covering whole-vehicle architecture, vehicle-side intelligence, actual operations, and closed-loop data, is key for SuperPanther to define and develop truck embodied intelligence for the future, and is also its core advantage distinguishing it from a single vehicle manufacturer or a single autonomous driving technology company.

Based on this architecture, SuperPanther will advance heavy-duty truck intelligence from driving automation gradually toward the understanding, decision-making, and autonomous execution of transport tasks, establishing a sustainably evolving technology foundation for next-generation embodied intelligence road freight.