Chinese OEM SANY recently launched its 90t class SKT145Ei cabless, battery electric autonomous wide body mining truck at its Global Mining Key Customer Summit in Xi’an in May 2026.
China is sufficiently far ahead in that several trucks like this are already out there – IM Editorial Director in July 2026 saw the EQ100E truck being put through its paces at a coal mine in Xinjiang – this truck was co-developed by autonomous haulage tech leader EACON and mining truck OEM Tonly.
XCMG’s ZNK95 is operating as a large fleet at the Yimin coal mine in Inner Mongolia using Huawei’s AHS. Both the EQ100E and ZNK95 are also cabless, autonomous and all electric. IM has also seen first-hand cabless rigid trucks operating in China as part of in-mine test programs – watch this space once information is permitted to be released.
Back to the SKT145Ei – SANY says removing the cab was never the goal, but reimagining the truck was. In a just posted video, Zhang Long from SANY’s Intelligent Mining Solutions team shared the thinking behind the SKT145Ei Autonomous Electric Mining Truck.
He states: “A more compact vehicle layout, easier maintenance and better adaptability to narrow haul roads. And autonomy built on multi-sensor fusion perception, with triple-redundant braking and an 801 kWh battery platform. Most importantly, autonomous mining is not about replacing people. It’s about creating safer operations and enabling people to take on higher-value roles.”
Long says the autonomous driving system and vehicle were co-designed and developed from the ground up. “Retrofitting traditional mining trucks into autonomous operation is constrained by the original architecture, making it difficult to achieve optimal placement of sensors and controllers. The cabless platform is purpose-built for autonomous driving enabling more optimised layout of sensors and controllers and making inspection and maintenance easier. It has a fully driverless cabless design with reduced overall vehicle length, so it better adapts to narrow road conditions in mining areas.”
He adds: “Mining never stops for tough terrain, for darkness or for the challenges ahead. That’s why the SKT145Ei was engineered with an 801 kWh mining-grade battery, triple-redundant braking and multi-sensor fusion perception. This model is equipped with LiDAR, mm-wave radar, and vision cameras. Multi sensor fusion technology is designed to handle harsh mining conditions such as rain, fog, and heavy dust, ensuring high vehicle availability.”
Long says autonomous mining doesn’t remove people – it moves them to a safer, higher-level role. From driving trucks to managing fleets, monitoring, dispatching and remote control and from one truck to many, for safer, smarter and more efficient mining.
SANY says this autonomous, all-electric solution delivers lower energy consumption, reduced maintenance and more reliable uptime for its customers. “Energy consumption costs are significantly reduced – electricity prices are far lower than fuel prices, resulting in a substantial reduction in operating energy costs bringing greater economic benefits to customers.”
It says added to this is a significant reduction in maintenance and service costs. “Compared with fuel powered mining trucks, electric mining trucks have longer maintenance intervals reducing overall maintenance costs and minimising unplanned downtime.”
Long concludes: “For mining companies, we deliver safer operations, reduced emissions and greater efficiency. For operators, its a safer, higher value way to shape the future of mining. It ushers in a smarter, greener future. From Xi’an to mines around the world SANY is building more than machines.”
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