China–Europe Tech Partnership | Yaxon Zhilian and HERE Technologies Forge a “Digital Passport” for Chinese Commercial Vehicles Going Global

In recent years, Chinese commercial vehicles have experienced explosive growth in overseas markets. Electrification, intelligent technologies, and internationalization are reshaping the Chinese commercial‑vehicle sector. Unlike the early days, when overseas expansion relied primarily on price competitiveness, today’s global push is shifting from “price‑driven” to a comprehensive competitive model centered on technology, services, and brand.

Empowered by technological innovation, we build a compliance moat.

With the entry into force of the EU’s General Safety Regulation (GSR), ISA, ADAS, and intelligent connected technologies have become standard equipment on exported vehicle models.

To help Chinese commercial vehicles expand globally and meet the regulatory requirements of overseas markets, in 2023, Yaxon Zhilian—a software and hardware provider with years of expertise in the connected‑vehicle space—partnered with HERE Technologies, a global leader in location data services. The collaboration focuses on three key areas: the ISA intelligent speed assistance system, high‑precision ADAS maps, and overseas navigation systems, aiming to deliver a one‑stop solution for Chinese commercial vehicles that combines regulatory compliance, technological upgrades, and localized adaptation.

As a leading domestic provider of connected‑car software and components in China, Yaxon Zhilian’s products have consistently ranked first in market share within the Chinese commercial‑vehicle sector for many years. The company has obtained multiple international certifications, including IATF 16949 for quality management, ASPICE Level 2, ISO 26262, and ISO 21434. It has filed over a thousand patent applications, more than 90% of which are invention patents, and has also secured 54 foreign invention patents. The company holds patents such as “A Method and System for Constructing an Electronic Horizon” (CN111309832B) and “A Precise Positioning Method for Electronic Maps, Terminal Device, and Storage Medium” (CN111177285B). Its independently developed products—including T-Box, eCall, 5G‑V2X OBU, security gateways, ISA map terminals, and ADAS map terminals—have earned widespread acclaim and high recognition from customers.

HERE, headquartered in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, is a global leader in digital mapping and location data platform services. As a pioneer in the field of map and location technologies for 40 years, HERE possesses digital map data covering more than 200 countries worldwide. By combining deep local expertise with global innovation capabilities, HERE is able to meet international safety and navigation standards, including the European Union’s Intelligent Speed Assistance regulations.

Two-way technological integration empowers Chinese commercial vehicle manufacturers to expand globally.

Addressing common industry pain points such as high resource consumption, poor system stability, response latency, and difficulties in cross-platform compatibility, Yaxon Zhilian has developed a proprietary map engine that significantly reduces resource costs. Its products deliver long‑term, continuous, and stable operation for 24/7 periods while maintaining consistent memory usage. Furthermore, Yaxon Zhilian’s self‑developed map engine software boasts rapid matching speeds, high accuracy, and support for multiple platforms, including Android and Linux.

In 2023, through a strategic partnership with HERE, Yaxon Zhilian was the first to complete map compilation and integrate it with its self-developed ISA map engine, successfully helping export‑oriented automakers obtain EU ISA system certification. In 2024, by further deepening its collaboration on ADAS map data, Yaxon Zhilian successfully developed an EHP map engine based on the ADASIS V2 protocol. This solution has been deployed in leading automakers’ Predictive Adaptive Cruise Control (PACC) systems, contributing to an 8%–12% reduction in energy consumption.

The collaborative成果 between Yaxon Zhilian and HERE has been successfully deployed across several leading domestic OEMs of commercial buses and trucks, serving markets in the European Union, South Africa, Australia, Mexico, and Latin America, thereby driving China’s commercial vehicle exports toward a transformation characterized by “high value-added, localization, digitalization, and green sustainability.”

Currently, Yaxon Zhilian is continuing to collaborate with HERE, leveraging market demand, addressing customer pain points, and capitalizing on its own strengths to develop an automotive connected‑map engine that delivers “vehicle–cloud synergy, convenient updates, easy scalability, and robust compatibility.” This enables the company to offer customers an integrated in‑vehicle map‑fusion solution encompassing navigation, ISA, EHP, and DR. The resulting end-to-end service will provide commercial‑vehicle operators with a smarter driving experience. This partnership aligns with the industry trend toward intelligent upgrades in commercial vehicles, aiming to comprehensively enhance vehicle safety, energy efficiency, and overall performance through innovative driving technologies.

Yaxon Zhilian’s strategic partnership with HERE, through the deep integration of “China‑made smart hardware” and “international digital services,” has effectively addressed the compliance challenges faced by Chinese commercial vehicles entering overseas markets, serving as a quintessential example of how “technology + ecosystem” is empowering the globalization of China’s commercial vehicle industry.