Autonomous trucks are already circulating in tests on the German A9 | The truth

Their presence also had the objective of promoting this new technology, in which Germany strives to be a pioneer. MAN developed the test vehicle together with suppliers Bosch, Knorr-Bremse, Leoni, Tüv Süd and other partners and initially tested it within the limits of the factory's own proving ground.

With a special permit, which dates back to the predecessor minister Andreas Scheuer, he hit the road yesterday to carry out the following tests. “I had heard the announcement and I was looking forward to seeing it with my own eyes, but the truth is that, when I reached it, I felt a certain uneasiness, something ghostly, and I preferred to stay at a certain distance,” commented Lavinia, a driver at a nearby service station. coincided with the autonomous truck.

“I suppose the first users of domestic electricity, or those who used a credit card for the first time, also felt some fear, but soon it will seem normal to us because technology is advancing along that path,” Dieter, an employee of a company, resigned. transport company.

While for Europe it is still a novelty, in America they have some advantage. For a year now, Daimler Trucks has been using autonomous trucks on US highways in pilot projects with customers. The company expects autonomous trucks to regularly hit the market in 2027 and generate sales of $3 billion and a profit of $1 billion through 2030, according to its spokesman Paul Mandaiker. In the next step, Daimler could devote itself to series production of autonomous trucks in Europe. And hence the German State provides facilities to local manufacturers, who could be left out of the game if they arrive late to autonomous technology.

To ensure road safety, specialized MAN employees monitored the autonomous driving of the truck remotely, from a control center and by computer to, if necessary, recontour the vehicle. MAN spokesman Gregor Jentzsch reported that there was also a safety driver in the cabin near the steering wheel, ready to intervene and take control at any time. Now that the highway test has been a success, MAN can continue making plans. «In the end, for a carrier it has to be worth acquiring the technology», explained yesterday the company spokesperson, Gregor Jentzsch, who listed a whole series of advantages.

Not even the professional drivers who yesterday came across the fantastic truck for the first time could see any drawbacks. They are not afraid that he will steal their jobs. After all, in Europe and the United States there is a huge shortage of professional drivers. In Germany there are already 120,000 truck drivers missing and every year 30,000 retire, while only 15,000 join.

For transport companies, they represent an obvious increase in competitiveness, since autonomous trucks do not have to respect driving times or breaks. In theory, they can circulate 24 hours a day without interruption and arrive to avoid many accidents. Instead of driving semi-trailers with containers back and forth on the autobahn between Hamburg and Munich and regularly spending the night in the driver's cab far from home, in the future more drivers could work in regional transport, loading vehicles and delivering goods short distance.

It is the customers who are skeptical for now. Autonomous trucks “sound good in theory, but there are still many questions about them,” warns Dirk Engelhardt, spokesman for the Federal Association for Road Transport, Logistics and Waste Disposal (BGL), “How often do failures occur in the radio network? How does it work in heavy rain, fog or snow? When do you encounter road construction? What if the road markings have faded over time? Added to this are the high investment costs that the extension of the autonomous truck will require. Both manufacturers and transporters will have to invest heavily in the switch to electric mobility in the coming years, as established by law, and that is now the priority. That is why the German Ministry of Transport estimates that they will not circulate properly on public roads for at least ten years.

The keys

MAN has already tested autonomous trucks during transshipment in the port of Hamburg and during loading on the railway and has achieved efficiency gains of up to 40 percent.

The transport service between two logistics points on the highway should be operational by the end of the year and, in 2025, begin negotiating practical projects with customers and enter serial production around 2030.

In Germany there are 120,000 truck drivers missing and 30,000 retire each year, while only 15,000 join the profession. Minister Volker Wissing: “Our goal is to become the leading market for automated and connected driving”