Einride Introduces Self-Driving Pods and Electric Transport Services in the U.S.

Nov, 2021 - By SMI

With partners such as Oatly, GE Appliances, and Bridgestone, the company will formally start testing its transportation solutions, such as electric trucks, autonomous pods, as well as the Saga OS.

The firm also revealed the American version of their pod that has been tailored to U.S. roadway conditions and standards, and a flatbed pod, a module vehicle designed to handle a variety of transportation demands, such as hauling containers from the shipyard. Einride has one of the largest fleets of electric trucks in Europe. Its self-driving pods, which lack a front cab and hence no room for a human safety operator, and also are electric. Other significant participants in the autonomous freight game, such as Waymo, Kodiak Robotics, and TuSimple are not necessarily adopting an all-electric strategy.

Einride's collaboration with GEA will result in the implementation of 7 electric and self-driving trucks at the company's facility in Kentucky, Louisville, Georgia, and Tennessee. The company anticipates that GEA will save 870 tons of CO2 emissions in the first year of operation, and the objective is to rapidly extend the collaboration with GEA in the next few years with the inclusion of extra trucks.

The Bridgestone partnership is more of a technological collaboration focused on co-creating sustainable transportation solutions for electric and self-driving Class 8 vehicles. The debut of Einride in the United States corresponds with an upgrade to the Saga platform. Saga is the Internet of Things technology that powers Einride's electric vehicles and pods. It's how Einride optimizes routes and manages a huge electric fleet, and the company deliberates it will become a kind of common operating system that will help alter the large freight sector and empower firms to electrify their operations.

In contrast to the US debut, Einride announced the establishment of a US headquarters in New York City, where members of the management team will be located, and also regional offices in the South East, Austin, and San Francisco. Currently, it has no plans to develop facilities in the US.