DHL, a subsidiary of Deutsche Post AG, in a statement said that
while the partnership was currently in its infant stages, it
looked forward to deploying TuSimple's driverless technology
across multiple regions outside the United States in the future.
The logistics provider, which also has partnerships with other
self-driving companies, began working on a pilot program with
California-based TuSimple earlier this month to transport daily
hauls between Dallas and San Antonio, Texas.
Those hauls are currently operated by TuSimple-owned trucks
retrofitted with the company's self-driving technology. The new
trucks, expected to be delivered to DHL between 2024 and 2025,
will be owned by the logistics company and equipped with
autonomous technology from the start.
TuSimple will then provide its self-driving services to DHL on a
subscription basis as part of the company's long-term business
plan, TuSimple Chief Executive Cheng Lu said in an interview.
"Retrofitting a truck is simple not scalable," Lu said.
TuSimple last year partnered with Illinois-based Navistar to
co-develop self-driving trucks targeted for 2024 production.
Navistar took a minority stake in TuSimple.
For DHL, autonomous truck deployment is currently limited and a
spokesman said the company was vendor-agnostic, allowing it to
partner with the optimal suppliers and technologies in different
regions.
DHL in October submitted a reservation for 100 trucks with
TuSimple competitor Embark Trucks Inc, and said it will submit
further reservations with a yet unnamed third autonomous
trucking provider.
The DHL order brings TuSimple's total truck reservations to
nearly 6,900. The company already has a partnership with UPS and
said it aims to remove safety drivers from its trucks on an
80-mile (130-km) test route between Tucson and Phoenix, Arizona,
in the coming months.
(Reporting by Tina Bellon in Austin, Texas; Editing by
Marguerita Choy)
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