Aurora and Hirschbach expand partnership for 500 Aurora Driver-powered trucks
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Houston, We Have Liftoff: Bot Auto achieves its first humanless commercial run
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(Photo: Thomas Wasson/FreightWaves)
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Houston, known for NASA and putting a man on the moon, has completed another milestone, this time without any humans aboard and involving a Bot Auto autonomous truck. The company announced Thursday that it has completed its first fully humanless, over-the-road commercial truckload run.
The haul occurred the night before. A Bot Auto autonomous tractor hauled commercial freight 231 miles across Texas overnight without a safety driver, a remote operator or an in-cab observer.
Bot Auto completed the run from Riggy’s Truck Parking in northeast Houston to Safe Stop in Hutchins, just south of Dallas, departing at 1:16 a.m. CT on April 29, 2026, and arriving at 4:57 a.m. CT. The freight arrived on time to meet a shipper’s tight delivery window.
“People told me autonomous trucking commercialization still had a long way to go. This load is my answer,” said Dr. Xiaodi Hou, founder and CEO of Bot Auto. “We did not build a demonstration, we built a business: commercial freight, on public roads, with no human in the cab or remote driving, operating between third-party logistics hubs, and most importantly, making money on every mile.”
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Aurora and Hirschbach expand partnership for 500 Aurora Driver-powered trucks
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(Photo: Thomas Wasson/FreightWaves)
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Aurora Innovation announced Thursday an expansion of its strategic partnership with Hirschbach Motor Lines. This includes plans for the Iowa-based refrigerated truckload carrier to own 500 autonomous trucks powered by Aurora’s virtual driver, called the Aurora Driver. Deliveries of these Aurora Driver-powered driverless trucks are expected to begin in 2027.
The first step involves a memorandum of understanding (MOU). The MOU outlines the path to autonomous scale. The final commercial terms and timing for a binding agreement are expected to close later this year. Once finalized, the deal will help Hirschbach scale a nationwide network estimated to create 500 million driverless miles. For Aurora, this establishes a multi-year revenue stream, valued in the hundreds of millions of dollars.
“When early adopters see the benefits the Aurora Driver delivers for their business and their drivers, they don’t just stay the course – they scale quickly,” said Chris Urmson, co-founder and CEO of Aurora. “We’ve been lucky to have such a thoughtful and innovative partner since our early days and we look forward to growing with them. The industry is primed for this product, and our momentum toward meaningful commercial revenue is hitting a new gear.”
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Kodiak AI and Bosch begin hardware deliveries for autonomous trucks
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(Photo: Thomas Wasson/FreightWaves)
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Kodiak AI said Thursday that Bosch has begun delivering critical hardware for its autonomous trucks. The move comes just four months after the companies announced their partnership in January.
The Mountain View, Calif.-based company is now testing camera samples from Bosch. It has also completed early prototype integrations into its SensorPods. Those are the proprietary modules that house the company’s autonomous driving sensors. Kodiak is further evaluating vehicle actuation components from the supplier.
The partnership aims to create a production-ready autonomous platform. It will also support high-volume deployment of trucks running the Kodiak Driver. Two key factors needed for commercialization and scaling ambitions.
“The quick transition to tangible engineering progress underscores the velocity behind this collaboration,” said Don Burnette, founder and CEO of Kodiak AI. “By validating Bosch’s sensors and components, we are deep into the ‘how’ of high-volume production. Our rapid progress is proving we have the shared ability to execute on the roadmap to industrialize the Kodiak Driver at scale.”
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IN PARTNERSHIP WITH ACT EXPO
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Connected vehicles, ADAS safety tech, autonomous advancements and software-defined vehicles drive innovation. Learn More.
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Workhorse Group Inc. landed a 100-unit order for W56 electric step vans from Gateway Fleets, facilitated by Kingsburg Truck Center. Gateway’s bundled lease model pairs EVs with charging infrastructure, eliminating upfront costs. Deliveries begin in July 2026. Gateway reports 65 percent fuel savings at its Riverside, Calif., site. (Workhorse)
Hyroad Energy has signed a commercial fueling agreement with Total Hydrogen Solutions for a new hydrogen refueling station in Katy, Texas. Hyroad secured an offtake agreement for the station’s full capacity to fuel its growing fleet of Class 8 hydrogen fuel-cell trucks. The facility is expected to be operational later this year. (Hyroad Energy)
ABB E-mobility’s new M-Series platform decouples power cabinets from dispensers, scaling from 200 kW to 1.2 MW across up to 24 charge points. The system treats installed power as a shared resource, distributing capacity based on real-time demand to lower cost per kilowatt-hour. (Clean Trucking)
The first Tesla Semi rolled off the company’s high-volume production line in Reno, Nev., on April 29. The factory can manufacture up to 50,000 Class 8 battery-electric tractors annually. Two versions are available: standard range (325 miles) and long-range (500 miles), with charging reaching 60 percent in 30 minutes. (Transport Topics)
ChargePoint recently unveiled Express Solo, claiming the fastest standalone EV charger at 600 kW. The system delivers 40 percent higher power density in a compact footprint, charges up to four vehicles simultaneously and integrates with Eaton for bidirectional charging and battery storage. It supports both NACS and CCS connectors. (ChargePoint)
Westport is demonstrating its next-generation compressed natural gas fuel storage and delivery system at ACT Expo 2026 in Las Vegas. The Volvo VNL 300 demo truck delivers 500 horsepower, 1,850 pound-feet of torque and over 600 miles of range using high-pressure direct injection technology that modifies existing diesel engines to run on natural gas. (FreightWaves)
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As always, thanks for watching and reading.
Thomas Wasson
twasson@firecrown.com
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