Q+A with Volvo Autonomous Solutions’ Nils Jaeger

"In order to really get autonomous driving going, you need to be able to scale, you need to be able to industrialize," says Nils Jaeger, president of VAS. (Volvo Group)

Volvo Autonomous Solutions will take the driver and observer out of its self-driving VNL tractors in the first quarter of next year and expects 300 of its trucks to be on the road by the end of 2027.

In addition, end-to-end lanes are becoming a reality and more cost-effective solution alongside the hub-to-hub lanes more familiar to observers of the autonomous trucking space in North America.

So, with a pivotal year for the scaling of deployment of autonomous trucks approaching rapidly — not just for VAS, but for partner Aurora Innovation and many of their peers — Transport Topics sat down with the Volvo Group division’s visionary top executive, Nils Jaeger, for a chat on what the future holds for the space.

TT: Volvo Autonomous Solutions will push further down the road to industrialization of autonomous Class 8 trucks in 2027. How did we get here?

Jaeger: In order to really get autonomous driving going, you need to be able to scale, you need to be able to industrialize. I would argue that is something we have planned for from the start. When we were created in 2020, we had that from that day in mind that we need to be able to build a product at industrial scale because the opportunity is so big. The potential adoption curve can be so strong that you really from the start need to design and build a product which you can industrialize, which you can move in your normal production line. And to do that right, and to do that in a way that you can manufacture those trucks on your normal production line, that was a big, big undertaking for us. And that we’ve done. And then, once you’re on the production line, it’s only black and white. You’re in or out.

TT: If you have the production line processes and adaptations in place, is this something that could be replicated for Volvo Group’s other brands such as Mack Trucks?

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The Volvo VNL Autonomous on display at ACT Expo. (Seth Clevenger/Transport Topics)

Jaeger: We have developed the technology which allows us to build an autonomous VNL. We’ve developed that in a way that we can bring that also to other truck brands. And that includes the European version where you have the cabover truck versus the conventional one. … Being here in the U.S., we should talk about Mack Truck, and that’s another opportunity for us. We believe that the future is autonomous and it will play a major, major role going forward. As this rolls out and becomes a more and more widely accepted and demanded technology, we will have to bring it to other parts of the world and that we do through our other truck brands.

TT: If you are thinking about other brands, are you also envisioning autonomous trucks with powertrains that aren’t diesel?

Jaeger: That is something we will definitely look at because range is important. It’s an autonomous truck and with a liquid fuel cell you can get a lot of range, and that’s something we believe makes sense. That is more in focus in the short term than to electrify our [vehicles]. To begin with, in the U.S., the interest is small to say it nicely. So maybe that is not the ideal starting point. Maybe in other geographies it makes more sense to push it there. But as the technology develops, then I really believe this is a good step for us to introduce in time.

TT: Artificial intelligence’s influence on industry grows more significant every day, and the autonomous trucking space is no exception, including with VAS’ second software partner Waabi, correct?

Jaeger: Absolutely, I think the involvement of AI and generative AI, and the usage of large language models, has very much changed not just my perception, but the overall perception. Waabi in record time developed Waabi Driver … and this development speed is something we would have not foreseen a short period ago.

TT: AI is also changing the options for mapping and delivery for customers, which offers greater potential for end-to-end deliveries, but that’s not the only lane for autonomous freight, right?

Jaeger: I hear some saying, this is a breakthrough and this is because customers didn’t like the existing model. I don’t agree with that one. I think the existing model [still] makes a lot of sense because you can do load consolidation. It is good to have a place where you can swap the trailers. It’s good to have a central place where you can do servicing. Everything happens at the customer side. You spread also, your resources. I believe both models make sense, and both of them will coexist. But the pace in which end-to-end was developed was quite significant and came to us also with some level of surprise how fast it has been going.