SCANIA announced last March 12, the launch of its Autonomous Commercial Pilot Program, signifying a significant step forward in developing autonomous hub-to-hub transport solutions.
This program is part of TRATON Group’s strategy and involves a new partnership with Plus, a US-based company. Plus will integrate its Level 4, fully autonomous SuperDrive technology stack into Scania and TRATON Group vehicles.
The Scania Autonomous Commercial Pilot Program prioritizes customer-driven testing. This approach aims to demonstrate the effectiveness of hub-to-hub technology and create scalable operational concepts that provide real value to customer operations.
Scania’s program launch comes at a time when customers seek reliable partners for developing and deploying autonomous vehicles within their operations. This new solution offers adaptability to specific customer routes and transport profiles.
“We are committed to developing fully integrated autonomous solutions,” said Peter Hafmar, Vice-President and Head of Autonomous Solutions at Scania. “This means technology that is factory-fitted and supported, along with a solution designed for customers to operate within their existing infrastructure and workflows.”
Scania’s autonomous hub-to-hub solutions are expected to enhance customer benefits in several ways: increased operating efficiency, reduced transport emissions, improved road safety, and addressing the growing global driver shortage.
This launch marks a new chapter in Scania’s journey towards autonomous vehicles. Since 2021, the company has been testing autonomous transport solutions on Swedish roads. The plan for 2024 involves expanding pilot operations with customers in other European countries.
“By expanding our autonomous hub-to-hub program, we are taking a leading position in providing autonomous solutions to our customers,” stated Peter Hafmar.
Scania trucks equipped with Plus’s Level 4 autonomous driving system are already undergoing testing on public roads in Europe, with a safety driver on board. The collaboration between the two companies involves piloting commercial operations with fleets, followed by series production and large-scale global commercial deployment.
“Plus is delighted to be chosen by Scania as their long-term autonomy technology partner,” said Shawn Kerrigan, COO and Co-Founder of Plus. “We will leverage our experience deploying our highly modular and flexible autonomous driving software globally to accelerate Scania’s development of high-performance autonomous trucks. These trucks will integrate safely and easily into customer operations and be deployed commercially at scale.”
Peter Hafmar concluded by stating, “We see autonomous technology as a key component of our offerings. It allows us to provide a full range of safe, efficient, and sustainable transport solutions that can be adapted to each individual customer’s specific needs. This is further strengthened by TRATON Group’s partnership with Plus.”
