Gatik, Isuzu to co-design driverless medium-duty trucks

Gatik has announced a partnership with Isuzu to help the truck maker accelerate mass production of an SAE Level 4 autonomous truck.

The trucks will be deployed in “freight only” operations without a human driver, at scale, the companies said. They claim it’s the first time an OEM and autonomy partner have connected to establish a dedicated production facility for mass production of Level 4 autonomous trucks, going beyond research and development.

Isuzu has invested US$30 million into Gatik, which it has worked with since 2021.

“In 2021, Gatik launched the world’s first fully driverless commercial transportation service with a Fortune 500 retailer and we are thrilled to be once again achieving an industry-first milestone by working with our partner Isuzu towards mass production of SAE Level 4 autonomous trucks,” said Gautam Narang, CEO and co-founder of Gatik.

“This partnership, coupled with Isuzu’s investment in Gatik, signals the company’s confidence in our technology and our world-class team, and we’re excited to bring autonomous transportation to the market at significant scale in the coming years.”

The companies will develop a production line at a dedicated manufacturing facility and begin operations there in 2027. This contrasts with more widespread efforts to modify existing trucks at the end of a production line, Gatik claims.

Gatik currently has more than 60 autonomous trucks on the road and they’ve achieved 100% safety record, the company claims.