The trial will see a fully-autonomous vehicle transport goods in regular traffic conditions between logistics hubs in Södertälje and Jönköping. Only the last mile of the 300km journey will be driven manually by a driver.
The parties say 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.
Commenting on the announcement, Robert Melin Mori, the Scania project manager in charge of the initiative, said:
“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.”
Massimo D’Alessandro, Director of Sustainability & Innovation at HAVI, added:
“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.”