The Volkswagen-owned Traton Group has announced it is advancing plans for Level 4 autonomous trucking across its Scania, MAN Truck & Bus and Navistar brands.

Traton is launching an Autonomous Commercial Pilot Programme based on an autonomous solution powered by the leading technology stack from U.S. tech pioneers Plus. 

The pilot programmes will expand the strategic development of autonomous hub-to-hub transport solutions and scalable operational concepts using the Level 4, fully autonomous Plus SuperDrive technology stack.

This new solution stands out due to its adaptability to customers’ specific routes and transport profiles. 

“We are committed to developing fully integrated autonomous solutions. This means technology that is fitted and supported directly from the factory and a solution that is designed to be operated by our customers in their existing infrastructure and operational flows,” says Peter Hafmar, Scania’s Vice-President and Head of Autonomous Solutions. 

The expectation is that Scania’s autonomous hub-to-hub solutions will help increase its customers’ operating efficiency, lower their transport emissions and improve road safety, while also addressing the growing global driver shortage.  

The launch and announcement are the latest stage on Scania’s autonomous journey. The company, which has already been testing autonomous transport solutions on Swedish roads since 2021, has plans to expand pilot operations with customers in other European countries during 2024. 

“By expanding our autonomous hub-to-hub programme we are taking a leading position in providing autonomous solutions to our customers,” says Hafmar.

Scania trucks equipped with the Plus Level 4 autonomous driving system are already being tested on public roads in Europe, with a safety driver on board. The two companies will pilot commercial operations with fleets, then start series production and global commercial deployment at scale.  

“Plus is delighted to be selected by Scania as their long-term autonomy technology partner. We will leverage our experience deploying our highly modular and flexible autonomous driving software globally to help accelerate their development of high performance autonomous trucks that will safely and easily integrate into customer operations and be deployed commercially at scale,” says Shawn Kerrigan, COO and Co-Founder of Plus. 

“Through our combined expertise, we will bring to market safer, more efficient and more sustainable transportation solutions. This will transform how freight is moved,” Kerrigan says.

MAN Truck & Bus is also collaborating with the Silicon Valley, California  specialists to explore driverless transport between logistics hubs. 

“With Plus, we have gained a proven specialist for automated driving systems in commercial vehicle applications as a partner. The aim is to increasingly integrate driverless driving with practical projects in concrete hub-to-hub logistics transport and thus accelerate the series introduction of autonomous driving systems,” says Lukas Walter, Head of Sales Truck at MAN Truck & Bus SE.

As a member of the TRATON Group, Navistar is also involved in the partnership with Plus to integrate its Level 4 autonomous SuperDrive technology stack into International vehicles.

Navistar says the high volume and scalability of hub-to-hub operations presents an immediate addressable market of 40 billion kilometres of long-distance freight on the U.S. interstate system. The company has strategically selected hub-to-hub operations as the company’s core segment for commercial viability of autonomous implementation.

International trucks equipped with SuperDrive by Plus are being validated with a safety driver on routes in Texas. Customer pilots are expected within the year, with commercial deployments expanding incrementally along strategic U.S. corridors.

“There is a strong business case for autonomous technology in the hub-to-hub distribution model, specifically in long-haul transportation where there’s a compelling opportunity to increase operational efficiencies,” said Tobias Glitterstam, chief Strategy and Transformation officer, Navistar.

“Global partnership with a company like Plus allows us to leverage the technical strides they have made as we work together to focus on the commercial viability of Level 4 autonomous driving.”

The Plus Level 4 autonomous driving system SuperDrive is fully integrated into trucks, also providing solutions for maintenance, telematics, safety, and reliability.