Morgan Stanley initiates coverage of Aurora Innovation

Autonomous trucking is gaining the attention of Wall Street with Morgan Stanley initiating coverage of autonomous truck technology company Aurora Innovation on Monday. Ravi Shanker, equity analyst at Morgan Stanley, writes that despite taking years longer than expected, “Trucking finally appears to be on the cusp of an autonomous future.” 

Morgan Stanley believes that Aurora is the most sophisticated on-highway, Class 8 autonomous solution among peers, with the April rollout of its commercial driverless operating being a key milestone for both Aurora and the industry. However, equity analysts are more bullish than industry executives, believing that the development of autonomous trucking “has achieved enough escape velocity to be considered a real and credible commercial option for many commercial fleets.”

Shanker writes that if all goes according to plan, the next 12 months will see the industry logging thousands of miles of driverless operations from trucking fleets, placing autonomous trucking in the same “real” category as passenger robotaxi fleets.

Compared to the approximately half-dozen other autonomous trucking companies about to launch driverless commercial operations, Shanker notes that Aurora’s plans for its April driverless commercial launch give it a head start. Morgan Stanley also sees on-highway operations as the most complex task for autonomous trucking compared to peers like Kodiak and Gatik, which are revenue-generating today with adjacent applications like off-highway or last-mile.

While Morgan Stanley deems Aurora the clear leader in the space for now, “We continue to believe that the market will likely end up being divided amongst several players over time.” 

There is a caveat: Aurora’s leadership could allow the company to gain an insurmountable lead over its peers. That would require tying up key OEM, carrier and service partnerships. 

For industry peers, the bright side is that there’s a large total addressable market, or the overall revenue opportunity for a product or service. Morgan Stanley estimates that nearly 90% of the $1.3 trillion U.S. domestic freight transportation market, or about $1.17 trillion, could eventually be accessible to autonomous trucking solutions.

Bot Auto sets ambitious 2025 schedule for driverless freight operations

Autonomous trucking company Bot Auto announced on Tuesday its plans to schedule continuous driverless commercial freight operations in 2025. The company’s schedule includes a minimum four-month pilot program of regular driverless runs between Houston and San Antonio, hauling cargo for customers.

In an interview with FreightWaves, Xiaodi Hou, founder and CEO of Bot Auto, said this initiative is a major step forward following Bot Auto’s previous successful hub-to-hub demonstration in October. The initiative departs from the industry’s earlier approach of one-off demonstrations, instead focusing on sustained, real-world driverless operations.

“The most predictable breakthroughs are the ones no one predicts,” said Hou. “2025 is going to be a big year. Look at what’s unfolding across our industry so far: Kodiak demonstrating driver-out capabilities in the Permian Basin, Aurora timing their Driver-Out pilot program, Fernride making strides in Europe and now Bot Auto setting our schedule.”
Read the full article here.

Benore Logistics expands hydrogen fleet with Hyundai HTWO trucks

Benore Logistics Systems announced on Tuesday the addition of 14 Hyundai Xcient hydrogen fuel cell trucks to its fleet. Benore began with four hydrogen trucks and expanded to 14 total in February. This is in addition to the company’s eight electric vehicles. The partnership with Hyundai Motor Group originally came from Benore’s relationship with Glovis, the logistics arm of Hyundai Motor Group. The trucks are being used on dedicated routes in the Savannah, Georgia, area servicing the new Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant America.

“These hydrogen fuel cell trucks represent a significant step forward for Benore and our ability to deliver innovative, sustainable logistics solutions,” said Dennis Kunz, vice president of revenue strategy and operation development. “Our partnerships with both Hyundai and Glovis are key to our company’s mission and the values we prioritize around sustainability and exploring advanced technology.”

The release adds that as part of the partnership, Hyundai Motor Group manufactures the hydrogen trucks while HTWO Logistics, the joint venture between Hyundai and Glovis, oversees deployment of the fleet. Benore then manages the fleet’s daily logistics, “ensuring seamless Just-In-Time and Just-In-Sequence operations that meet the demands of the Glovis EV contract.”

Briefly noted …

Commercial vehicle maker Isuzu North America Corp. recently announced it has selected Greenville County in South Carolina as the company’s new production base in the United States. Isuzu is a subsidiary of Isuzu Motors Ltd., and Isuzu Trucks have been in the North American market since 1984. The 1 million-square-foot facility set on over 200 acres is converting into an assembly plant to produce both internal combustion engines and electric vehicles, with a production capacity of 50,000 units per year. Operations are expected to begin in 2027.

Aurora’s lawsuit against the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is moving forward, with Land Line reporting the company has until April 9 to present its arguments. The FMCSA has until May 9 to respond. Final briefs are due June 20. The lawsuit came about after the FMCSA denied Aurora’s roadside warning device exemption request after Aurora and Waymo filed the petition in 2023.

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