German transport and logistics provider Hegelmann Group, which last year launched a U.S. division, recently placed a reservation for International trucks equipped with TuSimple’s SAE Level 4 autonomous driving system for use in its new North American operation.
The companies said their “symbiotic” partnership will provide solutions that address the ongoing driver shortage while also lowering greenhouse gas emissions and improving vehicle and environmental safety. Hegelmann’s reservation of purpose-built, factory-production units with advanced autonomous technology is a key step in its development of a state-of-the-art logistics network in North America called the TuSimple Autonomous Freight Network. And early studies show autonomous trucks in this type of network have the potential to reduce fuel consumption for middle-mile transportation, according to TuSimple.
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“TuSimple’s innovations will elevate our ability to compete and prosper in the North American market and are analogous to our stated objective to become a global logistics technology adopter,” said Andrew Jasinskas, business development project manager for Hegelmann USA. “Undoubtedly, autonomous trucks with TuSimple technology are the future of transportation, and Hegelmann’s strategy is to likewise be a standard bearer for innovations that push safety and efficiency to the next era of logistics excellence.”
TuSimple demonstrated its technology’s potential with the industry’s first “Driver Out” (no human intervention or operator) runs in 2021, and the company plans to continue these tests through 2022 as it prepares for full commercialization. TuSimple’s Driver Out pilot program is the product of a year and a half of work to co-develop an L4 autonomous Class 8 vehicle with International parent Navistar to demonstrate the level of redundancy, reliability, consistency, and safety necessary to remove the driver from the truck.
By the end of 2023, TuSimple plans to carry paid freight in high-density lanes in the southern U.S.
“We are pleased to add Hegelmann to our rapidly growing fleet partners who wish to adopt, integrate, and scale SAE L4 truck operation in the United States,” said Lee White, TuSimple’s vice president of strategy.
“Hegelmann chose TuSimple as their autonomous vehicle technology partner due to TuSimple’s leadership in the rapidly approaching full commercialization of autonomous vehicles.”
