Autonomous vehicles are coming, and they’re getting greenlit in select applications. Scania and HAVI Supply Chain are both partnering up for a ground-breaking new pilot trial for autonomous vehicles which will necessitate Scania vehicles to go on a 300-kilometer-3-hour journey across Europe between Södertälje and Jönköping.
The pilot journey will mark one of the first times that autonomous vehicle technology will be used in a practical application, which is to haul goods in the real world without a driver. On top of being used for testing purposes, the trucks will also do double-duty and haul commercial goods between the two points.
The first and the last miles will be handled by manually-driven vehicles, but the rest of the trip will be autonomous and the trucks will be subject to real-world conditions like weather, traffic, and more.
"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. 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 stepping stone."
"This is an autonomous transport solution being used under real operating conditions with commercial goods for a third party. No one has done that before in Europe. We are delighted to be working with HAVI on this pilot," adds Peter Hafmar, Head of Autonomous Solutions at Scania.
Scania and HAVI are natural partners for this project, and the two have already established a strong track record of cooperation in several forward-thinking projects that cover electric transport, decarbonization for the transport system, and exploring other innovations for efficiency and sustainability of 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," says Massimo D'Alessandro, Director of Sustainability & Innovation at HAVI.
