The realisation of autonomous transport is taking a big step forward as Scania opens up for orders of the company’s self-driving mining solutions. It is now possible to place orders for Scania’s 40-tonne autonomous heavy tipper for mining, with the 50-tonne model to follow shortly afterwards.
As a first step, Scania will start sales of its autonomous mining solutions in Australia, with first deliveries and start of operation scheduled from 2026. The next market in line will most likely be Latin America, a region where Scania has a significant market presence in the mining segment.
“The transition from research and development to the launch of a commercial product is a major milestone for us and for autonomous heavy transport in general. This is the most advanced product Scania has put on the market so far,” said Peter Hafmar, Vice President and Head of Autonomous Solutions at Scania.
Scania’s mining solutions with smaller, civil-class trucks also have overall potential advantages over the industry’s traditional heavy haulage trucks, both in terms of emissions and productivity. By utilising Scania’s autonomous mining trucks, the overall mining footprint including energy and infrastructure requirements can be reduced, meaning that capital and operating expenses may also be reduced at suitable sites.
Scania’s autonomous trucks can also be smoothly fitted into an existing operations set-up in a mine, thanks to their interoperability with other systems and vehicles.
Scania’s autonomous tipper truck has been developed in close cooperation between Scania’s R&D department and customers in the mining industry, with extensive testing in the harshest real-life conditions.
