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German rival Daimler has been at the forefront of self-driving
truck proponents, citing improvements in driver safety and fuel
efficiency while predicting the technology to overcome legal
hurdles in road freight transport.
Volkswagen (VW), which started to beef up its truck operations
before its emissions scandal broke last September, is pushing
digitalization and new mobility technologies as part of efforts
to reposition itself and overcome the scandal.
VW's Truck & Bus group said it would spend a "mid-range
three-digit million-euro amount" over the next five years on
digital features as it aims to improve communication of on-board
sensors with automatic braking and other systems.
MAN, part of VW's trucks division with Swedish subsidiary Scania,
is using an event in Munich on Monday to demonstrate the
feasibility of truck "platooning", in which a human-driven truck
is followed in convoy by other semi-automated trucks.
MAN has said platooning could help reduce diesel consumption and
carbon dioxide emissions in road freight transport by as much as
10 percent.
"The future truck is fully connected, that provides a gain in
safety and efficiency," VW trucks chief Andreas Renschler said.
However, investment in infrastructure need to keep pace for some
of the new technology to work.
"In future it will no longer be enough to build roads and repair
bridges," said Renschler. "What we need as quickly as possible
is mobile high-speed internet alongside the road."
(Reporting by Andreas Cremer; Editing by Maria Sheahan)
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