Autonomous logistics firm Einride is partnering with heavy truck brand DAF to accelerate the deployment of autonomous electric freight assets across the company’s premium truck platforms.
Driver shortages and increasingly volatile fuel costs are making it impossible for the logistics industry as a whole to ignore the promise of more predictable electric vehicle charging costs and an electronic driver who’s always ready to go. It’s against this industry backdrop that Einride and DAF have announced plans to integrate Einride’s Level 4 autonomous driving system, Einride Driver, into DAF’s “X” brand of premium heavy truck offerings.
“This collaboration is a testament to DAF’s commitment to innovation and future-proofing the logistics sector,” said Jeroen van den Oetelaar, DAF Trucks’ Chief Engineer and member of the board. “By combining our premium truck platform with leading autonomous technology, we are actively shaping a more efficient, safer, and sustainable freight ecosystem.”
DAF offers a number of fully electric heavy trucks, ranging from a 12-tonne XB Electric (call it a Class 7 in the US) for urban distribution on up to the XG and XG+ Electric for longer haul applications.
Baby steps
After becoming the first company to successfully deploy L4 autonomous trucks on public roads in Europe (and private roads in Ohio), Einride has been making moves to ensure that it had access to a suitable DC fast charging network to support Einride Driver’s operations once they reach regular production.
Now, with the signing of PACCAR-owned DAF (the same parent company as the iconic Kenworth and Peterbilt brands), Einride has a manufacturing partner who can put these on the road in some real quantities.
“By leveraging DAF’s decades of manufacturing excellence and market strength, we can expedite the global scale-up of Einride’s autonomous technology,” said Henrik Green, Chief Technology Officer at Einride. “This collaboration validates our vehicle-agnostic approach to autonomy and brings us one step closer to deploying safe, scalable Level 4 autonomy at commercial scale.”
We had a chance to speak with Einride CEO Roozbeh Charli earlier this year ahead of the company’s billion-dollar SPAC offering. You can check out that episode, below, then let us know what you think of Einride’s PACCAR partnership in the comments.
Einride CEO Roozbeh Charli
SOURCE | IMAGES: Einride.
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