Volvo Trucks’ end-to-end autonomous freight enters new phase

VAS' Sasko Cuklev demonstrates autonomous technology. VAS, working in a partnership with Aurora Innovation, currently has 10 customers. (Keiron Greenhalgh/Transport Topics)

PALMER, Texas — Autonomous trucking is set to enter a new phase, advancing toward end-to-end shipment from the hub-to-hub model much quicker than even the sector’s most ardent advocates expected, according to Sasko Cuklev, Volvo Autonomous Solutions’ head of on-road solutions.

End-to-end shipment for customers was always the goal for the Volvo Group unit, which operates a transport-as-a-service, Autona/freight, Cuklev told Transport Topics.

As a model, end-to-end moves freight directly from its starting point to its final destination rather than shipping through terminals for sorting and consolidation in a hub-and-spoke format.

The artificial intelligence support has evolved faster than expected, unlocking end-to-end lanes much faster than anticipated, the executive said during an interview at its North American operations base in Fort Worth, Texas.

“I think it’s the technology that has matured and there’s more confidence around the technology. It’s easier to map the last, more complex mile and first mile. So that’s why we can do that, and we can map those lanes much faster,” he said.

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"It’s easier to map the last, more complex mile and first mile. So that’s why we can do that, and we can map those lanes much faster,” VAS' Sasko Cuklev says. (Keiron Greenhalgh/Transport Topics)

Hub-to-hub lanes have been seen by proponents as the sweet spot for early adopters of Class 8 autonomous freight transportation for some time, eliminating the trickier first- and last-mile routing.

Recently, experts told TT that TFI International plans to introduce autonomous trucks on longer, less-than-truckload linehaul lanes were logical.

TFI — which ranks No. 6 on the TT Top 100 list of the largest for-hire carriers in North America and whose LTL unit ranks No. 8 in the segment — envisions rolling out self-driving trucks in 2027 in its LTL linehaul operations.

Cuklev declined to say whether Montreal-based TFI is a VAS customer. The executive said VAS, working in partnership with Aurora Innovation, currently has 10 customers. Those customers include DHL, Uber Freight, DSV and AVI SPL plus more the company cannot publicly reveal yet, he said.

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A view of the display screen when the autonomous technology is engaged. (Keiron Greenhalgh/Transport Topics)

During Volvo Group’s Capital Markets Day in June, VAS publicly committed to launching driverless trucks — absent the safety drivers currently in cabs — in the first quarter of 2027. It also expects to have 300 trucks in commercial operations by the end of 2027.

Sweden-based Volvo Group’s on-highway operations are focused on the U.S. — particularly in Texas — but in May, operations expanded to Oklahoma, with a 200-mile Dallas-Fort Worth to Oklahoma City lane.

Next on the list for VAS are lanes to Phoenix, Atlanta and Laredo, Texas, said Cuklev, adding that the order of expansion would be determined by customer needs.

Sites will require a launching-and-landing pad plus an inspection area, whether that is at a hub such as Aurora Innovation’s Palmer facility or at a customer site.

End-to-end and hub-to-hub lanes could coexist, said Cuklev, and discussions are ongoing with customers about their current and future needs. “I think it will be a mix of it, a hybrid of it” in the future, he added.

Whatever business model customers choose, VAS has built an ecosystem to support smooth operations, the executive noted, with field operators, roadside assistance, dealerships and its uptime center.

VAS has also partnered with two autonomous software solutions providers, Aurora and Waabi, to support customers’ needs.

“The whole program has been built with industrialization and scaling in mind. First of all, we wanted to build the right product. … These trucks are coming out now, but that has been the plan all the time,” said Cuklev.

VAS autonomous trucks are built on the same production lines as regular VNL and VNR tractors at the New River Valley plant in Virginia.

Volvo Group expects 25,000 autonomous tractors to be on the road by 2030 and the total to be more than 220,000 trucks by 2035.

“We believe that we will be able to go from thousands, from hundreds to thousands rather quickly,” Cuklev said. “We will not build thousands of trucks if we do not have the demand. But, based on the dialogues we have had, I think the demand will be there.”

Editor's note: A previous version of this article referred to AVI SPL as ADI. The above has been corrected to reflect this change.