If the driverless truck needs immediate assistance due to a flat tire or any other reason, an Aurora team member will be called. (Arora Innovation)
key takeaways:
- Aurora unveiled second-generation driverless trucks on July 22 and plans to have a fleet of 200 autonomous trucks by the end of 2026.
- The International LT Series trucks feature advanced sensors, a 1 million-mile design life and approximately half the manufacturing costs of the first generation Aurora.
- Aurora plans customer truck sales in 2027 and will report second-quarter 2026 results on July 29.
Aurora Innovation on July 22 launched the second generation of its autonomous trucks, which won’t require a human in the cab, before building a fleet of 200 driverless trucks by the end of 2026.
A spokesperson said on July 22 that the trucks would be International Motors LT Series tractors made by Roush Industries, which is expected to deliver 20 trucks per week to Aurora by the end of the year.
Second generation of trucks unveiled – with a livestream scheduled July 23 – Marks the reboot of commercial driverless operations for Aurora after the May 2025 start, leading Packer to request the return of an observer in the cab of the semis a few weeks later.
Aurora’s trucks will be virtually driverless, the spokeswoman said, although a roadside assistance specialist may occasionally sit in the back seat to assist with issues on longer routes. These employees, he said, are not observers and are not in the cab to handle or observe any demonstrations.
If an employee is not in the cab and the truck encounters a problem, Aurora Driver — the company’s self-driving software package — is designed to take the driver to a safe location and resume the trip when able, the company said in a July 22 blog.
(Aurora via YouTube)
The blog states that if the driverless truck needs immediate assistance due to a flat tire or any other reason, a member of the Aurora team will be called.
Aurora’s second generation hardware is more powerful, durable and has advanced long-range sensors for ranges up to one kilometre. It is built to last 1 million miles and costs half as much to build as its predecessor, the spokesman said.
Pittsburgh-based Aurora is upgrading LT Series tractors as well as partnering with Packer and Volvo Autonomous Solutions for factory-installed self-driving trucks.
Since the start of driverless operations, Aurora has purchased several LT series tractors. They’re part of the truck driver-as-a-service model, referred to in a July 22 blog as the company’s “try before you buy” program — Aurora Drivers for Freight. Aurora expects to offer the truck for sale to customers in 2027.
Aurora Driver for Freight currently offers 10 routes: Dallas-Houston, Fort Worth-El Paso, El Paso-Phoenix, Fort Worth-Phoenix and Dallas-Laredo.
Several customers, including Hirschbach Motor Lines and restaurant and convenience store delivery partner McAllen, have already begun driverless operations over the past few months.
Hirschbach ranked 58th on Transportation Topic’s Top 100 list of the largest for-hire carriers in North America. Berkshire Hathaway division MacLean is ranked 7th in TT’s Top 100 list of largest private fleets.
Dubuque, Iowa-based Hirschbach also signed a memorandum of understanding in April to purchase 500 Aurora driver-enabled trucks, with deliveries scheduled to begin in 2027.
Volvo Autonomous Solutions has also launched commercial autonomous freight delivery for customers AVI-SPL and DSV over the past few months using factory-built Volvo VNL autonomous trucks.
Technology solutions provider AVI-SPL launched commercial autonomous freight operations on Volvo VNL autonomous trucks between Dallas and Houston in June. VAS launched autonomous transportation services for DSV between Aurora’s terminals in Dallas and Houston in May.
Aurora will report second quarter 2026 results on July 29.
