Centered around the theme “Green Intelligence for a Better World,” the 8th XCMG International Customer Festival officially began on May 19 in Xuzhou, a major hub for China’s construction machinery industry, and will continue through May 22. The event has attracted more than 2,500 participants from over 100 countries and regions, creating a global stage for XCMG to strengthen collaboration across the entire value chain and showcase the capabilities of Chinese manufacturing worldwide.

This year’s Festival also marked the debut of the “XCMG Intelligence: New Tech, New Energy, New Future” forum focused on engineering and mining industries. Designed around globalization and intelligent innovation, the forum aims to encourage industry dialogue while contributing XCMG’s expertise to the sustainable growth of the engineering and mining equipment sectors.

Yang Dongsheng, chairman of XCMG Group and XCMG Machinery, emphasized the company’s commitment to openness, innovation, inclusiveness, responsibility and reliability, reaffirming XCMG’s long-term dedication to global expansion and partnership.

The opening ceremony on May 20 combined live machinery performances, holographic projections and large-scale digital displays to present eight themed application scenarios. Around 70 machines demonstrated technologies spanning intelligent earthmoving, green energy, smart mining and emergency response. Highlights included six next-generation cranes raising a 20-ton screen to a height of 40 meters, alongside the “World’s First Crane,” an 1,100-ton crawler crane, 39 aerial work platforms, eight port stackers and numerous AGVs operating in synchronized coordination for international guests.

During the ceremony, XCMG introduced “XCMG CONNECT,” a unified digital platform that combines equipment management, AI-powered service support and a global operational ecosystem. The system integrates machinery, services, spare parts and worldwide networks to provide customers with smart, full-lifecycle support across every stage of equipment use.

Reflecting the growing “AI+” movement, the Festival placed significant focus on unmanned machinery clusters and intelligent construction systems. Demonstrations featured a fully electric autonomous fleet handling excavation, transport, leveling and compaction tasks. Equipped with remote-control capability and L4 autonomous driving technology, the machines operate through XCMG’s proprietary coordination platform, enabling one-click management and intelligent dispatch across mining operations.

Throughout the event, nearly 500 machines have been deployed across immersive green construction demonstrations and 10 parallel exhibition zones. Dedicated aftermarket areas provide tailored solutions for mining, road construction, lifting, earthmoving and emergency rescue applications, while also offering integrated services such as spare parts, used equipment support, leasing and financing solutions.

The Festival also highlights XCMG’s expanding portfolio of environmentally friendly machinery, including hybrid cranes, electric mining equipment, excavators, loaders, road machinery and concrete equipment. The showcased technologies cover pure electric, grid-powered electric and hybrid-drive systems.

All autonomous construction clusters are powered by new-energy solutions and supported by integrated “source-grid-load-storage” systems along with advanced energy components. From power generation and storage to charging infrastructure, motors, control systems and battery packs, the company is presenting its complete new-energy industrial chain.

As a globally recognized exchange platform within the construction machinery sector, the Festival not only demonstrates XCMG’s advancements in green and intelligent technology but also underlines the growing influence of Chinese manufacturing in shaping worldwide industrial transformation.

Yang added that XCMG remains focused on building lasting partnerships and creating a mutually beneficial industrial ecosystem with customers around the world.

Neolix, an international company specializing in autonomous logistics, has announced new developments in its RoboVan-as-a-Service (RaaS) offering, highlighting significant progress toward bringing on-demand autonomous delivery into mainstream use.

The company reports that its delivery platform has processed more than 1.5 million orders and logged over 40 million kilometers of self-driving operations, following rapid expansion across several Chinese cities. In Qingdao—where the service was first scaled—Neolix now operates one of the city’s largest autonomous delivery fleets, with daily orders surpassing 6,500 at peak times.

This achievement signals a shift in how autonomous delivery systems are designed and deployed. Instead of relying on fixed routes or requiring customers to purchase hardware, the RaaS model provides a flexible, network-driven service. Through a mobile app, users can summon an autonomous vehicle in real time for point-to-point deliveries, much like booking a ride through a ride-hailing platform.

Encouraged by these results, Neolix is moving into the next stage of growth. The company aims to roll out its RaaS service in 50 cities across China within the year, while also testing the model internationally in the United Arab Emirates, South Korea, Singapore, and Portugal. These pilot programs will help refine the service for different urban conditions and regulatory environments, supporting future global expansion.

The concept was first introduced in Qingdao in collaboration with Didi Freight in mid-2025. It was designed to address the fragmented and high-frequency delivery demands of small and medium-sized businesses. By offering flexible routing and pay-per-use pricing, the model makes autonomous delivery more accessible and can reduce costs by around 50% compared to traditional methods, while also enhancing reliability.

Neolix’s approach focuses on a large but often overlooked segment of the urban logistics market. In China, city-based distribution represents a multi-trillion-renminbi industry, yet much of the demand comes from small retailers, wholesalers, and local service providers with irregular and time-sensitive needs. The RaaS model caters to these requirements through a shared, on-demand network that supports a wide range of use cases—from restocking retail outlets and delivering fresh produce to handling pharmaceutical and industrial shipments—operating continuously to sustain urban supply chains.

At the core of this system is a combination of advanced vehicle autonomy and cloud-based coordination. Neolix has deployed Level 4 autonomous driving technology at scale, enabling vehicles to navigate complex city environments without relying on high-definition maps, which accelerates deployment in new regions. Meanwhile, a centralized control system connects all vehicles into a single network, enabling real-time dispatching and route optimization across large volumes of orders. As the fleet grows and expands geographically, this networked model enhances efficiency, reduces response times, and lowers incremental costs, strengthening scalability.

The company emphasized that as autonomous technology evolves, the industry is shifting its focus from standalone vehicles to integrated service ecosystems. Neolix aims to position autonomous delivery as a shared infrastructure that improves urban logistics efficiency and supports the digital transformation of supply chains.

With ongoing expansion and increasing operational capabilities, Neolix expects its RaaS solution to play a key role in the future of city logistics, offering a more adaptable and scalable alternative to conventional delivery systems.