PepsiCo and Gatik launch commercial driverless trucking deployment
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Volvo Autonomous Sets Q1 2027 for Fully Driverless Trucks
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(Photo: Thomas Wasson/FreightWaves)
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Volvo Autonomous Solutions plans to remove safety drivers from its autonomous trucks and begin fully driverless operations on U.S. highways in the first quarter of 2027, the company announced at Volvo Group’s Capital Markets Day.
The timeline marks a significant milestone: scaling from approximately 20 trucks today to more than 300 by the end of 2027, with industrial scaling beginning in 2028. Revenue from the autonomous business is projected to approach approximately $3 billion within five years.
Aurora Innovation, Volvo’s technology partner, confirmed the deployment in a LinkedIn post: "In Q1 2027, we’ll deploy those trucks with nobody behind the wheel in Texas."
Volvo Autonomous Solutions currently operates commercially in Texas with safety drivers, moving freight daily between Dallas-Houston, Fort Worth-El Paso and a recently launched Dallas-Oklahoma City lane. The Oklahoma City route represents an operational leap—point-to-point delivery directly into customer facilities rather than hub-to-hub transfers.
"We are driving the whole way into the customer facility, which of course removes that drayage piece," said Sasko Cuklev, head of On-Road Solutions at Volvo Autonomous Solutions. "But it will also require higher operational precision and much deeper integration into the customer."
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PepsiCo and Gatik Launch Largest Commercial Driverless Trucking Deployment
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PepsiCo and Gatik announced Monday a multi-year strategic partnership marking the largest commercial autonomous freight deployment to date. Operations are already live across Texas, Arizona and Arkansas, with fully driverless trucks serving around 250 retail locations including Walmart and Dollar General stores.
"Serving our vast network of customers requires a supply chain that is safe, reliable and built for the future," said Jim Farrell, senior vice president of supply chain at PepsiCo. "Gatik is already operating inside our networks and brings the autonomous freight technology, commercial experience and scale we need to strengthen service, add capacity and move products more consistently for our customers."
The partnership, which began in 2022, went fully driver-out in June 2025. Gatik maintains a 99 percent on-time track record with no safety drivers or observers in the cab — a distinction CEO Gautam Narang emphasized in an interview with FreightWaves.
"Driverless trucks deployed in commercial capacity, driving across highways and surface streets — that’s what we’re doing with PepsiCo," Narang said. "The fact that they’re adopting this in very complex supply chains is one of the proof points that autonomous trucking is mainstream."
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Einride Goes Public as Cabless AV Strategy Hits Nasdaq
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Einride’s decade-long bet on cabless autonomous trucks paid off Wednesday as the Swedish-born freight technology company began trading on Nasdaq under tickers "ENRD" and "ENRDW." The listing caps a de-SPAC process that started with a deal announcement in November and closed with shareholder approval last week.
"Over the past decade, Einride has built the technology and the customer base to lead the transition to autonomous and electric freight," said Roozbeh Charli, chief executive officer of Einride. "Our focus now is clear: continue expanding with our customers and increase automation within their networks."
Founded in 2016, Einride built its strategy around eliminating the driver compartment entirely. "We took a different approach from day one," Charli told FreightWaves. "There is no room for a driver. That also means you have to build your safety case from day one without relying on a human operator."
The company enters public markets with $92 million in annual recurring revenue and more than $800 million in potential ARR from joint business plans with 30 global customers. Its land-and-expand model shows up clearly in its GE Appliances partnership, which grew from a two-truck Kentucky pilot to roughly 20-25 electric trucks and two autonomous vehicles.
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InCharge Energy closed a $46 million strategic investment led by S2G Investments to scale its technician workforce and expand its InControl software platform into distributed energy resources. The Los Angeles-based company manages more than 30,000 charging assets for fleets, school districts and municipalities, resolving roughly 80 percent of charger issues remotely. (InCharge Energy)
An MIT study found that Waymo robotaxis drive empty 44 percent of miles — nearly identical to Uber and Lyft’s roughly 40 percent deadhead rate. Analysis of 86 million miles from 2023 through 2025 shows autonomous ride-hailing offers no meaningful congestion relief compared with traditional services, undercutting a key industry promise despite massive investment. (ArsTechnica)
LG Energy Solution is pivoting to commercial EVs and energy storage as passenger demand cools amid policy shifts and the end of the $7,500 consumer subsidy. At ACT Expo 2026, Bob Lee, North America president of LG Energy Solution, said fleet decisions hinge on total cost of ownership, with infrastructure — not batteries — now the main bottleneck for long-haul electrification. (Clean Energy)
ABF Freight is adding two Tesla Semis for broader long-haul EV evaluation after a 2025 pilot in which the electric truck matched diesel performance. Operations will begin in California before expanding to Reno and other lanes. The carrier will benchmark costs, performance, safety and driver satisfaction against diesel trucks before deciding on further investments. (Trucking Dive)
Volvo Trucks will launch unattended over-the-air software updates later this year, letting drivers start an update, lock the truck and walk away. After eight years of development, more than 80 percent of connected trucks now run the latest software, cutting unplanned stops by 24 percent. A new 24-volt platform enables updates to nearly all ECUs. (FreightWaves)
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As always, thanks for watching and reading.
Thomas Wasson
twasson@firecrown.com
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