II. Technology Iteration: From Bus Platforms to Special-Purpose Vehicle Validation (2016–2019)

From 2016 to 2019, Vector-Drive entered a critical phase of engineering iteration and real-world validation. In 2016, Zhejiang Zhenyi Drive Technology Co., Ltd. was established to convert the team's earlier research achievements in distributed drive, wheel-end control, and corner-module technology into engineered products.

The company was backed by Hangzhou Bay Shangyu Economic and Technological Development Zone Investment Development Co., Ltd. and built a multidisciplinary expert team covering aerospace, high-speed rail, communications, mechanics, and artificial intelligence. Its R&D focus became more defined: intelligent control systems for new energy vehicles, distributed-drive systems, and execution-layer technologies for commercial vehicle chassis.

In 2017, the team completed its second-generation corner module and partnered with King Long to launch the second-generation Super Bus. In the same year, an airport shuttle bus equipped with distributed rear-wheel drive and intelligent control was showcased at an exhibition in Belgium. Presented as the world's first airport shuttle bus using distributed rear drive and intelligent control, it marked Vector-Drive's expansion from bus platforms into special-purpose vehicle scenarios such as airports and industrial parks, while also creating an early path for international market validation.

Between 2017 and 2019, the team further developed its third-generation E-Corner module. This module integrated key execution systems, including in-wheel motors, steer-by-wire, and brake-by-wire, into the wheel-end unit and was successfully applied to a bus platform. Vector-Drive then worked with Xiamen King Long to complete prototype development, followed by 50,000 kilometers of reliability, durability, and destructive testing at the Xiangfan National Vehicle Proving Ground.

This phase proved the engineering reliability of the E-Corner architecture. It also laid the foundation for later steer-by-wire chassis, vehicle-level coordinated control, and intelligent heavy-duty truck applications.