As reported by Heavy Duty Trucking last week, “Daimler Trucks North America has decided to pass on platooning and focus instead on advancing its position in vehicle automation.” Here are more details from the article:
“Speaking at a press event in Las Vegas preceding the CES electronics show, [Martin Daum, the head of Daimler’s truck and bus divisions] said the fuel economy gains [with platooning] are modest at best, considering the technical resources required to make it happen, and that Daimler’s dollars would be better spent developing systems for Level 4 automation.”
Do you agree with Daimler’s assessment that the ROI for driverless truck platooning doesn’t justify the R&D investment compared to investing in developing highly- or fully-autonomous trucks?
Watch the brief video commentary and then post a comment below and share your perspective!
For related commentary, see Driverless Trucks: Heading Somewhere or Nowhere Quickly?
