Smart Trucks, Smarter Transportation

TRATON is working on autonomous solutions that will alleviate a current global shortage of three million drivers, and Peter Hafmar points out that autonomous trucks will be able to complement human drivers in the future. “We can drive the stretches that might not be as lucrative, or that the drivers don’t want to drive, for example, routes that would keep the drivers away from home for longer periods of time.” Moreover, mining customers frequently demand electric vehicles, which are smaller, and so need more drivers to move the same load.

In addition, autonomous driving promotes sustainability by enabling efficient operations, reducing energy usage, and supporting electrification. Peter Hafmar explains:

“Autonomy is not the only key to reaching zero emissions, but it can help with that journey, allowing us to operate in a smart way.”

Current regulations in some countries control truck hours of operation and incentivize speed over sustainability, whereas autonomous trucks do not have the same limitations. Autonomous solutions also enhance safety by minimizing human errors, such as fatigue or distractions. Peter Hafmar says: “The computer never takes a break, the sensors are always up and running, don’t get distracted, and won’t tire.” This is extremely important for both mining projects, which have a very high focus on safety, and on public roads, where the majority of accidents happening today are due to human factors.

Customers also benefit from autonomous driving. The total cost of ownership for the customers of TRATON’s brands is positive, as it increases the utilization rate of their fleet, Hafmar points out.

TRATON realized at an early stage that autonomous solutions would deliver benefits to both the Group and the customers. Therefore, this was one of the first areas to be developed on a Group level. The totality of the development work, as well as business planning, is done centrally and the intention for all TRATON brands is that any vehicle in the TRATON GROUP should be able to accommodate autonomy.

With a fleet of eleven tippers, TRATON brand Scania brings autonomous driving to commercial reality for the first time in the Group’s history. The trucks for Scania’s customer Regroup will be deployed in a manganese mine in Western Australia, with operations set to begin in late 2025.

Scania has also been testing the use of autonomous driving in open-pit mining in Western Australia with its partner Rio Tinto since 2022. Additionally, Scania and Australian metals mining company Fortescue are jointly developing an autonomous road train solution. Another application of autonomous trucks in a confined area featured a self-driving MAN in the Autonomous Innovation in Terminal Operations (ANITA) project. Spearheaded by MAN and its partners, this effort successfully developed and tested autonomous truck operations within a container terminal.

TRATON is also focusing on commercial self-driving trucks on public roads in “hub-to-hub” traffic, which means transport between two logistics centers or hubs on dedicated routes. In 2024, MAN and twelve partners made significant progress toward developing self-driving trucks on German highways by successfully concluding the ATLAS-L4 sponsorship project. Scania has also been testing autonomous transport solutions on Swedish roads since 2021.

To intensify the development of Level 4 autonomous driving solutions, TRATON brands Scania, MAN, and International have entered into a partnership with US-based company Plus, a global provider of autonomous driving software solutions. International has started testing the software on busy freight corridors in Texas.

All TRATON GROUP autonomous vehicles currently being tested in hub-to-hub traffic have a safety driver on board. The planned timeframe for operating these trucks without a safety driver is within the next few years in the US, with Europe expected to follow shortly thereafter.

“The software for autonomous driving is among the most sophisticated there is, and we are working at the forefront of software development. TRATON is thus moving toward being an advanced software company, and the expertise of our employees is contributing to the future of transportation”, Hafmar concludes.