Isuzu invests US$30 million in to develop autonomous driving logistics business
Summary
Building a partnership towards commercialization of Level 4 autonomous driving in 2027Isuzu Motors Limited (headquartered in Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan; President and COO: Shinsuke Minami; hereinafter Isuzu) and Gatik AI, Inc. (headquartered in California, United States; CEO: Gautam Narang; hereinafter Gatik) have agreed to further enhance the development of the North American autonomous driving business. Gatiks Class 3-7 autonomous driving trucks are currently commercially deployed in Texas, Arkansas (United States), and Ontario (Canada).Through this partnership, Isuzu will enter the middle mile autonomous driving business in the LCF4 segment, where the company has already established a market leadership position in the United States and Canada. This advanced technology will also allow Isuzu to actively address pressing issues facing the industry, such as the worsening driver shortage and rapidly increasing delivery needs in North America. Moreover, the two companies will jointly design and develop a new chassis with safety performance that is compatible with the installation of an autonomous driving system with the aim of starting mass production in 2027.Gautam Narang, CEO and co-Founder of Gatik remarked In 2021, Gatik launched the worlds 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. This partnership, coupled with Isuzus investment in Gatik, signals the companys confidence in our technology and our world-class team, and were excited to bring autonomous transportation to the market at significant scale in the coming years.Hiroshi Sato, executive officer of Isuzu commented As part of our April 2024 mid-term business plan announcement, we are committed to establishing three pillars of new business for the future: autonomous driving solutions, connected services, and carbon neutral solutions.