Aurora expands self-driving trucks route to El Paso

Aurora has added a 600-mile driverless route from Fort Worth to El Paso, the autonomous vehicle technology company’s second for self-driving trucks.

The company announced the expansion Tuesday alongside its third-quarter earnings report. Aurora also said it has completed more than 100,000 driverless miles on public roads with five self-driving trucks, a milestone for the company. launched its commercial services The company’s next predetermined goal in May is to expand to Phoenix by the end of the year.

Aurora’s initial commercial service began on the Dallas-to-Houston route with launch customers Hirschbach Motor Lines and Uber Freight. At the time, the company said it planned to build “tens of thousands of self-driving trucks” and expand to El Paso and Phoenix by the end of 2025.

The Fort Worth-to-El Paso route is long enough to be mandatory for carriers, according to Aurora, who cited staffing challenges and the difficulty of completing the 10-hour journey in one day. Customers on the El Paso route include Hirschbach Motor Line as well as Russell Transportation.

Aurora also shared details about the next-generation hardware, which is being developed by Fabrinet and is being integrated into the Volvo VNL autonomous truck. It says the hardware is more durable and has better performance, yet is half the overall cost. The company’s new-generation lidar detects objects up to 1,000 meters away, twice the distance of its current generation. Aurora has also improved its sensor cleanliness, which it says will work more reliably in harsh weather.

“The integration of Aurora’s next-generation hardware with Volvo VNL Autonomous on the pilot line at our New River Valley facility marks an industry-first partnership and highlights the meaningful progress we are making together,” said Nils Jaeger, president of Volvo Autonomous Solutions. “By building trucks purpose-built for autonomy, we are moving beyond prototypes and creating scalable solutions that are ready to meet the demands of a modern supply chain.”

This next-generation hardware will come from a suite of high-volume hardware being developed jointly with Aumovio, formerly Continental, which is slated for production in 2027.