Today was a big day for Aurora, as it announced its first commercial product to reach the market would be through a partnership with PACCAR’s to be the truck company’s first autonomous vehicle (AV) technology partner to build and deliver autonomous trucks. The announcement coincided with the close of its acquisition of Uber ATG deal as it welcomed its new teammates.
The PACCAR strategic agreement involves development, testing, and commercialization of autonomous Peterbilt and Kenworth trucks. The collaboration will integrate PACCAR’s autonomous vehicle platform with the Aurora Driver to enhance the safety and operational efficiency for the truckmaker’s customers.
PACCAR will provide autonomous-enabled vehicles as well as aftermarket parts distribution, finance, and other transportation solutions, while Aurora will supply its industry-leading self-driving technology including hardware, software, and operational services. The partners will work closely on aspects from component sourcing and vehicle technology to the integration of the Peterbilt and Kenworth vehicles with the Aurora Driver. The partnership also includes vehicle validation at the PACCAR Technical Center and production support in PACCAR factories.
“PACCAR looks forward to partnering with Aurora because of their industry-leading autonomous driving technology and impressive team,” said Preston Feight, PACCAR Chief Executive Officer. “This strategic partnership complements PACCAR’s best-in-class commercial vehicle quality, technology, and innovation.”
Kenworth T680 and Peterbilt 579 trucks using the Aurora Driver are expected to be deployed in North America in the next several years.
“Aurora is excited to take this next step in our collaboration with PACCAR,” said Chris Urmson, Aurora Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer. “Working together, we’ve been impressed with PACCAR’s product engineering, manufacturing capabilities, and commitment to enhancing its customers’ operational safety and efficiency. This partnership brings us one step closer to unlocking the autonomous freight market and delivering goods to those who need them.”
Aurora’s been laying the groundwork for this product and this partnership for some time. Many of the AV supplier’s test vehicles are built on PACCAR’s trucks, its sensor suite being unique in its ability to safely operate them, and its vehicle-agnostic Driver developed to quickly and seamlessly adapt to them. The flexible ecosystem the partners are developing will allow shippers and carriers to seamlessly integrate these trucks into their existing operations.
This partnership builds on that foundation in two key ways—both of which are a first for both PACCAR and Aurora in the trucking space, according to Sterling Anderson, Aurora Chief Product Officer & Co-Founder.
“It brings our engineering teams together around an accelerated development program to create truly driverless-capable trucks, starting with the Peterbilt 579 and the Kenworth T680,” he wrote in a blog post. “It also brings together the broader PACCAR and Aurora organizations in the creation of an expansive commercialization plan for the deployment of these trucks at scale over the next several years… It’s an exciting time for Aurora, for PACCAR, and for the industry, and we look forward to sharing the continued progress we’ll make together as we deliver the benefits of self-driving technology safely, quickly, and broadly.”
Aurora is positioning itself to lead the industry as it moves quickly to integrate its new employees and leverage the technology and resources of its Uber ATG acquisition. The company now has more than 1600 people in eight locations; adding to Aurora’s Pittsburgh, Mountain View, San Francisco, Dallas, and Bozeman operations will be Uber ATG’s Seattle; Louiseville, CO; and Wixom, MI, bases.
