Texas will likely be the starting point, Kodiak Robotics CEO Don Burnette told Automotive News. But details are not yet firm.
“We haven’t made a determination or finalized the details of where we’ll be operating,” he said.
Should their plans come to fruition, it is believed the Loadsmith fleet would be the largest self-driving trucking fleet in operation on public roads in the near term. It is an aggressive but attainable plan, autonomous vehicle industry consultant Richard Bishop said.
“In terms of today’s reality, no company has yet launched fully commercial Class 8 driverless trucks for long-haul operations,” Bishop said. “This would be a ramp-up from zero to 800 in two years’ time, an ambitious aim.”
Aurora Innovation, one of Kodiak’s competitors, plans to launch service between Dallas and Houston and have about two dozen AV trucks running by the end of 2024. Aurora inked a partnership with Continental in a deal that will hasten scale starting in 2027.
Using the Kodiak Driver, the company’s self-driving technology system, Loadsmith’s fleets will haul goods along highways. The trucks will be driven by humans to hubs along or near the highways, at which point the autonomous system can be engaged.
It will drive by itself to another hub, at which point another human driver will pick up the truck and deliver cargo to its final destination.
Loadsmith founder and CEO Brett Suma said the company might operate and own hubs in select markets but will otherwise partner with real-estate development companies to build the hubs.
“It would be foolish for us to just try to go it alone from a real estate perspective,” Suma said. “There are third parties working on and talking through what a logistics hub looks like that incorporates a truck park for autonomous [trucks].”
They’re not the only company considering how real estate fits into AV truck operations.
