Navistar has been taking care of autonomous semi trucks like nobody’s business. This is because they’ve been able to partner up with self-driving technology leader TuSimple. This is with the intention to sell International-brand driverless trucks back in 2024.

The Navistar International Corporation had taken an undisclosed minority interest in TuSimple. And chances are that the stake could increase over time.

Navistar President and CEO Persio Lisboa had this to say: “Autonomous technology will have a profound impact on our customers’ business. This marks a significant milestone in our development journey with TuSimple. And we look forward to furthering our relationship in the months to come.”

But Watch Out! Navistar Has Competition

Navistar has been able to overcome the challenges set by Volvo Group. Daimler Trucks North America (DTNA), Volvo Group and PACCAR Inc.’s Kenworth Truck Co. The latter of which is developing Level 4 autonomy. That is to say that there are in no means human interaction necessary. 

Chief engineer for Advanced Driver Assistance Systems Chris Gutierrez had this to say: “We’re not talking about partnering on demonstrations. We’re talking about Navistar and TuSimple bringing a product to market that anyone can walk into a dealer or call their national account representative and say, ‘I’d like to order [autonomous] trucks.”

They have been developing diesel-powered, no-frills autonomous semis with the help of TuSimple from the past two years. It definitely that will look like a sleeper cab.

This move assists Navistar in creating differentiated products while giving TuSimple what it truly needed — a platform to put its technology on.

Usually, besides fill-ups and breakdowns, an autonomous truck doesn’t have to stop for any sort of normal operation. This is because Navistar is looks at about a 200- to 240-gallon fuel tank. Assuming that they have 8 mpg, they are able to travel more than 1,900 miles.