By Kevin Akor
Munich — Commercial vehicle maker TRATON GROUP and autonomous driving company PlusAI said Monday they are expanding their global partnership to accelerate the development and large-scale deployment of self-driving trucks on public highways in the United States and Europe.
Under the expanded arrangement, TRATON said it plans to commit up to $25 million in non-dilutive research and development funding to support factory integration of PlusAI’s SuperDrive virtual driver system across TRATON brands, including Scania, MAN and International. TRATON also said it will nominate a representative to PlusAI’s initial board of directors following the autonomous software company’s planned public listing.
“Autonomous trucking is a strategic pillar of TRATON’s long-term technology roadmap,” said Niklas Klingenberg, a member of TRATON’s executive board responsible for research and development. “From day one of our collaboration, PlusAI’s technical capabilities and commercial execution have exceeded our expectations.”
Klingenberg said autonomy offers the potential for higher vehicle uptime and improved value for fleet customers, while strengthening the long-term competitiveness of TRATON’s brands.
The expanded partnership builds on a collaboration announced in 2024, when PlusAI was selected as the on-highway autonomous driving platform for TRATON’s truck brands. Since then, the companies have reached several technical and operational milestones, including autonomous fleet trials in Texas conducted by International with one of North America’s largest logistics operators.
The partners have also completed precision demonstrations with Red Bull, advanced NVIDIA-powered Level 4 autonomous development, and validated driverless safety maneuvers, according to the companies.
“Together with TRATON, we’ve moved autonomy from the lab to factory integration and now to real-world operations,” said David Liu, chief executive and co-founder of PlusAI. “We have a common Level 4 software stack operating in Europe and the U.S., proven integration on TRATON truck platforms, successful driverless validation, and customer pilots underway.”
The companies said a definitive agreement is still under negotiation, with current terms subject to a non-binding agreement. In addition to R&D funding and board representation, TRATON would be eligible to receive private warrants linked to revenue milestones tied to commercial deployments of TRATON-branded trucks equipped with SuperDrive.
TRATON and PlusAI also plan to continue joint fleet trials, prepare manufacturing systems for scaled production of autonomous trucks, and coordinate deployment plans along key freight corridors. Initial commercial routes and operational design domains are expected to be defined in the United States, with groundwork being laid for expansion into major European markets.
The companies said the expanded partnership reflects their shared goal of bringing factory-built, on-highway autonomous trucks to market at scale.
