Scania is partnering with HAVI Supply Chain for a ground-breaking new trial that sees an autonomous truck being used in the transport of commercial goods. The pilot, carried out under regular traffic conditions, aims to learn about the effectiveness of autonomous truck transport as part of hub-to-hub operations.
In what is a first for Europe, Scania and HAVI Supply Chain are piloting the use of a fully autonomous vehicle to transport commercial goods in regular traffic conditions between logistics hubs. The pilot will see the autonomous truck drive between Södertälje and Jönköping, a three-hour journey of around 300km, and the route forms part of a longer logistics flow for HAVI, with the first and last mile being handled by manually driven vehicles.
“We know the transport system will change in the coming years and that the industry faces challenges of driver shortages and diminishing margins, so the transformation process towards autonomous technology needs to start happening right away,” said Robert Melin Mori, Scania’s Project Manager in charge of this initiative.
The pilot is a first step in showing how autonomous trucks can form part of a viable hub-to-hub logistics flow and allows Scania and HAVI to evaluate the effectiveness of the technology in their operations.
“We need to learn about autonomous operations now so that we are ready as soon as the technology is ready. We believe this pilot will be a hugely important steppingstone,” said Melin.
The two companies have already established a strong track record of cooperation in several forward-thinking initiatives around electrified transport, in keeping with their shared commitment to decarbonising the transport system and exploring innovations to improve the efficiency and sustainability of commercial transport operations.
“We have built up a strong understanding through the initiatives we’ve already undertaken together, and we
are very happy to be in partnership on this latest pilot, which we believe holds enormous promise for our future relationship and for the future of the supply chain industry as a whole,” said Massimo D’Alessandro, Director of Sustainability & Innovation at HAVI.