Since August 2026, the Felixstowe container terminal operated by Hutchison Ports has been using 100 autonomous electric terminal tractors Q-Truck, built by Chinese manufacturer Shanghai Westwell Technology, under an order signed on 2 June 2023 following a pilot phase with two vehicles. The vehicles transport containers between the quay, yards and other handling areas under the control of the terminal operating system.
The Q-Trucks are battery-electric vehicles without cabins and communicate in real time with the terminal infrastructure through a private 5G network. Westwell says it has upgraded the sensor equipment for the latest batch, based on the fusion of cameras and a 128-channel lidar system to detect the surrounding environment. The vehicles do not recharge their batteries but replace them automatically and quickly. Hutchison Ports gives a battery-swap time of five to six minutes. According to Westwell, the fleet can cut CO2 output by up to 50 tonnes a year per unit compared with a diesel tractor. From an operational perspective, Hutchison Ports expects greater consistency in the quay-yard cycle and reduced dependence on driver availability across multiple shifts, with the possibility of operating 24 hours a day. The terminal operator has also been using Westwell Q-Truck tractors at the Thai terminal of Laem Chabang since 2020.
